Federal prison employee union sues Justice over workplace safety

A labor union representing federal prison employees has filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department alleging unsafe work conditions and practices – including the acceptance of inmates from outside facilities without quarantining them.

The suit was filed by the Council of Prison Local C-33, a division of the American Federation of Government Employees, on behalf of employees at the Bureau of Prisons, which is overseen by the Justice Department. 

The suit alleges workplace violations in all of the prison bureau’s 122 facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The suit alleges that the prison bureau also violated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and a collective bargaining agreement with the union. 

Other allegations include the prison bureau moving inmates from high-risk facilities in New York to low-risk ones in Pennsylvania without proper screening and personal protective gear.  

In addition, the prison bureau implemented a COVID-19 screening tool without consulting with the union, in violation of their agreement, and failed to follow CDC recommendations on quarantining potentially exposed workers, the suit also alleges.

The union also claims the prison bureau waited until March 31 to begin a modified lockdown. 

The prison bureau says its properly-outfitted Public Health Service staff has been in place and ready to respond since February 2020, in connection with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health of the Department of Health and Human Services. 

And as a result of those efforts, the prison bureau “instituted a comprehensive management approach for oversight of the situation,” according to the agency’s website. 

The prison bureau also says it received guidance on addressing the pandemic from the World Health Organization, the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of the Vice President. 

Guidance memos were issued to all sites on January 31, February 29, March 6, according to the website. And on March 9, more guidance was issued “regarding COVID-related screening for staff and how leave should be assigned.” 

According to BOP's updated COVID-19 cases, 497 federal inmates and 319 BOP staff tested positive for COVID-19. Of those, 205 inmates and 33 staff members have recovered. Across all of their facilities, 22 federal inmates have died as a result of COVID-19. As this goes to publication, no BOP staff members have died as a result of COVID-19.