PIECP ASSESSMENT GUIDE

April 1, 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTSPage

A. The 2012 Assessment Process Overview................................................2

List of Major Steps in Assessment Process..................................5 Chart of Assessment Process.......................................................6 Chart of Assessment Report Process...........................................7

B. Assessment Protocol...............................................................................8

C. NCIA Tasks............................................................................................11

D. Assessor Tasks......................................................................................13

E. Certificate Holder Tasks.........................................................................15

F. Certificate Holder Tasks Checklist.........................................................16

G. Information Sent by Certificate Holder Prior to Assessment Checklist...17

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A. The 2012 Assessment Process Overview

Introduction

The Prison Industries Enhancement Certification Program (PIECP) assessment process was developed to provide the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) with sufficient information to assure that all PIECP activities are in compliance with the program’s underlying statutory and administrative requirements. BJA has selected the National Correctional Industries Association (NCIA) to assess its active PIECP Cost Accounting Centers (CACs). Selected CACs at approximately thirteen Certificate Holders/sites will be assessed in 2012.

This cycle, assessors will conduct the assessments without additional team members. As in the past, an assessor will have performed at least one assessment prior to this one and will be the point of contact for the Certificate Holder and NCIA. He or she will coordinate the report writing process and be responsible for completing the assessment report.

Support staff from the NCIA will provide a variety of services in connection with the assessment.

The Process

The 2012 PIECP assessments have several key features:

On-site visits will be made to thirteen Certificate Holders with a focus on 60 CACs, selected primarily based upon the date of their last on-site assessment.

Some information will be provided to the assessor prior to the assessment visit. At the time of designation, NCIA reviewed all active CACs for compliance with eligibility, displacement, consultation with organized labor, consultation with local private industry, and NEPA. Those compliance requirements are therefore considered to be met. In preparation for this assessment, the Certificate Holder will provide current information on wages/displacement, deductions, benefits, voluntary participation, and any changes in NEPA conditions for all CACs to be assessed. Thus the assessor will arrive on site already familiar with the CACs to be assessed and ready to gather the additional information necessary to make a compliance recommendation to BJA.

As much as possible, NCIA personnel and the assessor will utilize email to transfer information among the parties to the assessment. All of NCIA’s 2012 assessment materials have been created in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel so that all parties can easily manipulate the information

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necessary to complete the assessment. Assessment materials also will be available on NCIA’s website: www.nationalcia.org.

On-site time will be devoted as much as possible to those tasks which can

only be performed on site—interviews, records verification, and visual observation.

At BJA’s request, assessors, Certificate Holders, and NCIA staff should make every effort to complete each assessment within 90 days of the time of the site visit.

The assessment process will be divided into three parts:

Part 1: Assessor's Review of Current CAC Information and Background Information Prior to Site Visit

Each Certificate Holder will provide NCIA, prior to the site visit, current wage/displacement, deduction, benefit, voluntary participation, and NEPA information for each active CAC. Certificate Holders will be asked to send payroll and appropriate DES wage letters for two separate months: January 2011 and January 2012. Two copies of the data should be sent to NCIA as part of the Information Sent Prior to Assessment Checklist.

Upon receiving the information, NCIA will forward it to the assessor, along with a copy of the previous assessment report, a summary of any compliance issues raised during that assessment, and a list of CACs to be assessed. By reviewing as much information as possible before the site visit, the assessor should be able to make better use of limited time on site

Part 2: The On-Site Visit

The on-site visit will be focused on those mandatory criteria which are time sensitive: wages/displacement, benefits, deductions, and voluntary participation, as well as any changes in conditions affecting NEPA compliance. It will provide the assessor with the opportunity to “fill in the blanks” and re-examine the tentative conclusions made as a result of reviewing the information provided by the PIECP Manager prior to the assessment, and to observe various aspects of program performance first-hand. Through interviews with department of corrections officials, correctional industries representatives, private sector partners, and inmates, as well as through visual observations and random/sequential sampling of payroll and other data, the assessor can complete his or her understanding of PIECP activities at the site.

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Part 3: Preparation of the Final Report and Follow-up

The assessor will prepare the assessment report based upon the Draft Assessment Report Format included in the Assessment Workbook. Assessors will use the combined Off- and On-Site Worksheets as their main tool in preparing the report, but should not submit the worksheets to BJA. If it becomes necessary to develop a compliance plan, the assessor will participate in the design of the plan, but not in its implementation. BJA and NCIA will be responsible for the plan’s implementation.

This approach significantly reduces the amount of material the assessor must examine on site. Any gaps in knowledge are likely to be recognized prior to the visit, so that the assessor will know what questions to ask and what additional information to collect during the visit. All NCIA materials will be available by email and on the NCIA website, www.nationalcia.org.

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MAJOR STEPS OF THE 2012 ASSESSMENT PROCESS

1. BJA notifies all Certificate Holders of the upcoming assessments.

2. NCIA notifies the PIECP Manager that an assessment will be performed and requests payroll and DES wage determination for January 2011 and January 2012.

3. NCIA selects assessors and makes site assignments.

4. The assessor asks the PIECP Manager to provide current CAC information on the 5 mandatory criteria: wages/displacement, benefits, deductions, voluntary participation, and changes in NEPA conditions for January 2011 and January 2012.

5. NCIA sends “assessment packet” to assessor.

6. Assessor reviews current CAC information in advance of site visit.

7. The on-site visit is completed.

8. Assessor prepares draft report and emails to NCIA for review.

9. After response from NCIA, assessor sends or emails draft report to PIECP Manager for review and response.

10. After response from PIECP Manager, assessor changes “draft” to “final” and sends final report and response to BJA, the Certificate Holder, the PIECP Manager, and NCIA.

11. BJA notifies Certificate Holder of the results of the assessment. If compliance issues remain, BJA works with NCIA to assist Certificate Holder in reaching full compliance. (The assessor may destroy working papers at this point if he or she chooses to do so.)

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2012 ASSESSMENT PROCESS

= information already determined by NCIA to be in compliance

Initial Package of Information provided by NCIA National Office

Information provided by Certificate Holder in Advance

Assessor Analyzes Information Sent in

Advance

Information collected on site

PIECP Manager Responds

Assessor Makes any Changes and Sends to

PIECP Manager

Assessor Creates Draft Assessment Report

Assessor Makes Site Visit

WORKSHEETS

Consult Labor at Designation

Displacement

NEPA at

Designation

Benefits

Consult Industry at

Designation

Voluntary Participation

Wages

Deductions

NCIA Reviews Draft Report

BJA

NCIA

PIEManager

Certif. Holder

Eligibility

Tasks completed on site

Changes in NEPA

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ASSESSMENT REPORT PROCESS

If No Problems If CH Disagrees with Findings

Assessor Creates Draft Assessment Report and Sends to NCIA for Review

NCIA Reviews

Assessor Sends Draft Report to PIECP Manager

PIECP Manager Responds in Writing

Assessor Completes Final Report

If Problems Exist, and CH Seeks Compliance

Assessor notifies NCIA of problem(s). BJA, assessor and

NCIA formulate compliance plan. Assessor incorporates

plan outline into report, re-labels report as “Pending Completion

of Compliance Plan,” and sends report to BJA and NCIA. BJA/

NCIA relay plan to CH and monitor. NCIA adds explanation

to report when compliance reached and forwards to BJA,

CH, and assessor. BJA notifies CH, NCIA, and assessor of full

compliance.

Assessor attaches site response, re-labels report as “final,” and

submits to BJA, Certificate Holder,

PIECP Manager and NCIA.

BJA notifies Certificate Holder,

NCIA, and assessor of full compliance.

Assessor notifies NCIA of problem(s) and

incorporates a description of the

problem(s) identified and the Certificate

Holder’s response to the report. Assessor re-

labels report as “Contests Findings,”

and sends report to BJA and NCIA. BJA/NCIA work with site to reach solution. BJA makes

new compliance determination.

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B. Assessment Protocol

1. Early May 2012

BJA notifies selected Certificate Holders in writing of the upcoming assessments. The letter states that NCIA will be conducting on-site assessments of certain CACs and explains that an assessor will contact the PIECP Manager with specifics as the time of the visit approaches.

(See BJA Letter to Certificate Holder, Assessment Guide.)

2. May 2012

a. NCIA determines which CACs will be assessed.

b. NCIA prepares a package on each Certificate Holder to be assessed, containing:

a list of CACs to be assessed a brief description of NEPA conditions at the time of designation a copy of the Certificate Holder’s previous assessment report along

with BJA’s letter acknowledging completion of the last assessment a description of any significant compliance-related issues that arose

during the previous assessment cycle and their resolution.

NOTE: To facilitate the preparation of assessment materials, NCIA will include only CACs designated prior to January 1, 2012.

c. NCIA sends a letter to each PIECP Manager, advising:

That a site assessment will be conducted and which CACs will be assessed

the name of the assessor that the assessor will contact the Certificate Holder’s PIECP Manager

to coordinate assessment visit details that two (2) copies of the wage, deduction, benefit, and voluntary

information for January 2011 and January 2012 should be forwarded to NCIA not less than 30 days prior to the assessment. Note that for both months, DES wage verification documentation should be provided.

(See NCIA Letter to PIECP Manager, Assessment Guide.)

3. Not less than 45 days prior to the visit

a. Assessor contacts PIECP Manager to arrange site visit and discuss travel logistics.

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b. Assessor sends letter to PIECP Manager following phone call, formalizing date for visit.

(See Sample Letter A, Assessment Workbook.)

4. Not less than 30 days prior to visit

NCIA receives wage, deduction, benefit, voluntary participation, and changes in NEPA information on each CAC to be assessed from Certificate Holder, including DES documentation, as requested. Two separate months are covered: January 2011 and January 2012.

5. Not less than 21 days prior to visit

NCIA incorporates information into the package it has already prepared (See #2b, above), and forwards it to the assessor. The package now contains all of the information listed there, plus wage/displacement, deduction, benefit, voluntary participation, and NEPA information submitted by the Certificate Holder for January 2011 and January 2012.

6. July – September 2012

Site visits take place.

Assessor sends thank you letter to PIECP Manager. Requests additional information, if necessary.

(See Sample Letter B, Assessment Workbook.)

7. Not later than 30 days after the visit

Using the Draft Assessment Report Format, and based upon the completed Off- and On-Site Worksheets, assessor prepares a draft assessment report and emails it to NCIA.

(See Draft Assessment Report Format, Assessment Workbook.)

8. Not later than 30 days after receiving the draft assessment report from assessor

a. NCIA reviews draft assessment report; consults with the assessor and BJA, and suggests changes (if necessary) to assessor.

b. Assessor amends draft, if necessary, and sends or emails draft assessment report and cover letter to jurisdiction’s PIECP Manager and NCIA. Letter asks for a response within 30 days.

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(See Sample Letter C, Assessment Workbook.)

9. 30 days after receiving Draft Report

PIECP Manager responds, in writing or by email, to assessor. Either: (1) no problems; (2) agrees with problems identified by assessor and wishes to correct; or (3) disagrees and wishes to contest findings.

10. Not later than 60 days after the site visit

a. If no problems, assessor/ re-labels draft report as “final” and sends hard copy to Certificate Holder, PIECP Manager, NCIA and BJA (along with the letter from Certificate Holder agreeing with findings). The assessor’s job is now complete.

(See Sample Letter D, Assessment Workbook.)

BJA notifies Certificate Holder in writing of full compliance finding and that process is now complete.

b. If problems exist and Certificate Holder seeks compliance, assessor notifies NCIA. Assessor, BJA and NCIA formulate compliance plan. Assessor and NCIA outline proposed compliance plan, assessor re-labels report “Pending Completion of Compliance Plan,” and forwards it to BJA and NCIA. The assessor’s job is now complete.

BJA/NCIA relay plan to Certificate Holder in writing, with timeline for implementation. Timeline may vary depending upon the nature of the problem, 30 to 90 days. BJA (with assistance from NCIA, as requested) monitors plan. NCIA creates addendum to final report with description of implementation results, and forwards addendum to Certificate Holder, assessor, and BJA.

BJA notifies CH Commissioner, in writing, of full compliance and process is complete.

c. If Certificate Holder disagrees with assessor’s findings, BJA (with assistance from NCIA, as requested) reviews Certificate Holder’s explanation of the practice(s) in question, makes a new compliance/non-compliance determination, and informs Certificate Holder, NCIA, and assessor, in writing. Letter also outlines procedures for cancellation of Certification if non-compliance cannot be corrected.

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11. At end of process

Once BJA determines full compliance at the conclusion of the assessment process, all time-sensitive documents may be destroyed. Working papers are not subject to FOIA requests and the assessor should decide whether he/she wishes to keep or dispose of this information once the assessment is complete.

C. NCIA Tasks

1. May 2012

a. Determine which CACs must be assessed.

(For detail, see Protocol, 2b, above.)

b. Prepare assessment package on each Certificate Holder.

(For detail, see Protocol, 2b, above.)

c. Assign an assessor, for each Certificate Holder to be assessed.

d. Notify selected PIECP Manager in writing:

that a site visit will be conducted the name of the assessor that the assessor will contact the PIECP Manager to schedule a site

visit that wage, deduction, benefit, voluntary participation, and NEPA

information for January 2011 and January 2012 must be submitted to NCIA not later than 30 days prior to the site visit.

2. May – June 2012

Upon receiving wage, deduction, benefit, voluntary participation, and NEPA information on all CACs to be assessed, add to package and send to assessor. Package now includes all information outlined in Assessment Protocol, 2b, above, plus the wage, deduction, benefit, voluntary, and NEPA information (including DES wage verification) on each CAC sent by the Certificate Holder to NCIA for January 2011 and January 2012.

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3. 30 days after receiving draft assessment report

NCIA reviews draft assessment report submitted by assessor and communicates any suggested changes to assessor. Works with Certificate Holder, PIECP Manager, assessor, and BJA to design a compliance plan, if necessary. 4. Until completion of process

Work with BJA on any tasks necessary to complete assessment process.

5. At completion of process

Organize and keep on file all assessment reports and back-up documentation that has long-term relevance. All time-sensitive documents may be destroyed once BJA determines full compliance at the conclusion of the assessment process. Working papers are not subject to FOIA requests and the assessor should decide whether he/she wishes to keep or dispose of this information once the assessment is complete.

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D. Assessor Tasks

(See Assessor's Checklist, and On- and Off-site Worksheets in Assessment Workbook.)

Assessor Tasks have been divided into on and off-site activities; off-site activities have been further divided into pre- and post-site visit tasks.

1. Pre-Site Visit Tasks:

a. Contact Certificate Holder to arrange logistics of visit.

b. Review materials provided by NCIA.

c. Fill out those portions of the Off-Site Worksheets which can be completed based upon the information now in your possession. (See Off-Site Worksheets, Assessment Workbook.)

2. On-SiteTasks:

a. Conduct interviews with corrections officials, PIECP Manager, CAC Managers.

b. For each CAC to be assessed:

Pick interview sample Get copy of voluntary agreements, timesheets, and payroll records for

each member of random sample Conduct walkthrough Interview inmates Complete On-site Worksheets Identify any missing materials or information

3. Post-Site Visit Tasks:

a. Send thank you letter to Certificate Holder and request any information that might be missing.

b. Complete draft assessment report, relying upon the completed Off- and On-Site Worksheets as the source documents.

c. Draft the Assessment Report.

The report will include: (1) a summary of the information reviewed and the conclusions of the assessor as to compliance/non-compliance on the 5 PIECP mandatory criteria reviewed on site (wages/displacement,

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benefits, deductions, voluntary participation, and changes in NEPA since designation or the time of the last assessment visit); and (2) any assumptions the assessor made in drawing his or her conclusions. Any compliance-based problems should be identified along with suggestions for their resolution.

(See Draft Assessment Report Format, Assessment Workbook.)

d. Forward hard copy of Draft Report to jurisdiction’s PIECP Manager. Ask for response within 30 days.

(See Sample Letter C, Assessment Workbook.)

e. When PIECP Manager responds, if there are no unresolved problems, assessor re-labels draft as “final” and forwards copy (along with Certificate Holder’s response) to BJA, Certificate Holder, PIECP Manager, and NCIA.

(See Sample Letter D, Assessment Workbook.)

f. If there are unresolved problems and Certificate Holder seeks compliance:

Assessor, BJA and NCIA formulate compliance plan. NCIA and the Assessor outline proposed compliance plan, assessor re-labels report “Pending Completion of Compliance Plan,” and forwards it to BJA. The assessor’s job is now complete.

BJA/NCIA relay plan to Certificate Holder in writing, with timeline for implementation. Timeline may vary depending upon nature of problem, 30 to 90 days.

BJA (with assistance from NCIA, as requested) monitors plan.

NCIA creates addendum to Final Report with description of implementation results, and forwards addendum to Certificate Holder and BJA.

BJA notifies Certificate Holder, in writing, of full compliance and process is complete.

g. If Certificate Holder disagrees with assessor’s findings:

BJA (with assistance from NCIA, as requested) reviews Certificate Holder’s explanation of practice(s) in question, makes a new compliance/non-compliance determination, and informs Certificate Holder and NCIA in writing. Letter also outlines procedures for cancellation of Certification if non-compliance cannot be corrected.

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E. Certificate Holder Tasks

The Certificate Holder’s primary responsibility is to gather together relevant current information prior to the site visit and to forward that information to NCIA no less than 30 days prior to the site visit. The process amounts to a “self-assessment” in that it will require the Certificate Holder to ensure that, from its point of view, all of the PIECP mandatory criteria have been met. (See Information to be Provided by Certificate Holder Prior to Assessment Checklist, and Certificate Holder Tasks Checklist, Assessment Guide.)

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F. CERTIFICATE HOLDER TASKS CHECKLIST

Time Frame External Input Task

[ ] May 2012 Receive initial Assessment --- Notification from BJA

[ ] May 2012 Receive letter from NCIA Notify all relevant parties thatadvising site visit will take site visit will take place. Planplace; name of assessor. visit.

[ ] not less than 45 Receive letter/call from Begin to collect CAC advance days prior assessor to schedule information to forward to NCIA. Forward

assessment. as soon as possible. Conduct self-assessment simultaneously. Determine how many people and days assessment will require.

Notify CACs of assessment date.Develop proposed itinerary and reserve meeting rooms.Make hotel reservations, in-state travel arrangements for assessor.

[ ] 30 - 40 days prior Send “Information Provided by Certificate Holder Prior to Assessment” to NCIA headquarters.

[ ] 14 days prior Confirm reservations/travel arrangements and finalize itinerary.

[ ] 1 day prior Coordinate details of visit with assessor.

[ ] Assessor arrival Assessor entry briefing withChief of Corrections and PIECP Mgr.

Conduct assessment.

[ ] 14 days after Request for missing Provide missing information to assessor.information (or thank youif nothing missing)

[ ] 60 days after Receive draft report Respond to draft report (to assessor).

[ ] 90 days after[ ] --- Receive final report Respond to BJA and NCIA.[ ] --- Receive final BJA letter Implement compliance procedures (if

or compliance plan any).

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G. INFORMATION SENT BY CERTIFICATE HOLDER PRIORTO ASSESSMENT

2012 PIECP ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST FOR WAGE ANDDEDUCTION INFORMATION PROVIDED PRIOR TO ASSESSMENT

The purposes of this checklist are: (1) to identify for the PIECP Manager the information to be sent to NCIA headquarters not less than 30 days in advance of the assessment and (2) to assist the assessor in verifying that pertinent documentation has been provided.

Date: __________________________________________________________

Certificate Holder: __________________________________________________________

System-wide Information:

1. List of active CACs, model, and products/services produced as of January 1, 2012. Please include the name of the institution and the address for each CAC.

2. Any new or changed legislation affecting PIECP CACs enacted since the last desk or siteassessment.

3. Definition of “displacement” used by the Certificate Holder. [NOTE for assessor: Use jurisdiction’s definition of displacement if one exists (usually defined by the State DES). If not, ask if Federal definition is used. Federal definition: the inappropriate transfer of private sector job functions to PIECP inmates.]

4. Definition of “locality” used by the Certificate Holder. [NOTE for Assessor: Locality means the geographic area impacted by the presence of a PIECP CAC operation. It is normally defined by the State DES. If the DES has not provided the CH with a definition, determine what definition of locality is being used by the CH instead.]

5. Sample copy of voluntary form showing types of deductions, percentages, and any other financial agreement by PIE inmate workers.

Documentation for each CAC:

CAC Name and Institution Address: ____________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Letter from Certificate Holder to DES requesting 10th percentile wage determination covering January 2011 and January 2012, including SOC codes. If the CAC uses a training wage, the letter from the Certificate Holder must request approval of both the training wage and period for each applicable SOC code.

7. Response from DES, including SOC codes.

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8. Written description of any exemption from 10th percentile wage floor that your DES or BJA may have granted. A copy of the decision should be included.

9. Date annual update was implemented, for each CAC being assessed for 2010 and 2011.

10. Copy of current Workers’ Compensation policy for inmate workers in the CAC being assessed, along with a brief description of benefits provided. The description should include: (1) temporary and partial disability lost income formulas; (2) permanent disability lost income and lump sum payment criteria and payment maximums; and (3) death benefits, including payment maximums..

11. Description of Workers’ Compensation benefits provided to the comparable group against which you measure the benefits provided to PIECP inmate workers (private sector counterparts in employer model CACs; correctional industries workers in customer or manpower model CACs). Your description should include: (1) temporary and partial disability lost income formulas; (2) permanent disability lost income and lump sum payment criteria and payment maximums; and (3) death benefits, including payment maximums. For customer model CACs, types of coverage must be comparable to those provided to state or county prison industries employees, but amounts need not be identical if the Certificate Holder can show that the benefits for PIECP inmate workers are comparable to those provided to similarly situated private sector workers (versus state workers). The burden is on the Certificate Holder to show comparability. Procedures need not be identical.

12. Piecework:i. If yes, DES 10th percentile hourly wage for each SOC code:

______________________________________________________________________________

ii. Industry standard production rate (units per hour) for 100% productivity:______________________

iii. Production rate (units per hour) for 100% productivity used in this CAC:___________________

iv. Explanation of any differences:_________________________________

v. Pay rate per unit produced:____________________________________

13. Split wagei. If yes, criteria:______________________________________________

14. Training wagei. If yes, rate:_________ Timeframe/Length of training:______________

ii. DES authorization of both wage and timeframe (must be included)____

15. Copies of official payroll and deduction reports for the months January 2011 and January 2012 for each inmate worker in the CAC. This documentation may include accounting payroll reports, check stubs, inmate account reports, or any other documents that provide the following information:

i. Inmate name

ii. Inmate number

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iii. SOC code (must be included; may be handwritten if necessary)

iv. Rate of pay (converted to hourly if piece rate)

v. Number of hours worked during pay period (If worker must meet hourly requirement to move up from training wage, include hire date and total

number of hours worked to date)

vi. Gross wages for pay period

vii. Taxes (federal, state, local)

viii. FICA and Medicare (if Employer Model)

ix. Room and board

x. Family support

xi. Victims’ compensation and/or restitution

xii. Net pay (gross minus all deductions; must be at least 20% of gross)

xiii. Overtime at time-and-a-half (if applicable)

16. Wage plan (if any)

17. Wage-related inmate grievances (include process for resolution)

18. Summary of missing documentation (if any)

19. Issues of Concern (if any):

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