N.Y. COR Law § 874

§ 874. When employment prohibited. (a) No employment under the work\nrelease program for any prisoner shall be approved if:\n (1) it is ascertained by the sheriff that such employment will result\nin the displacement of employed workers, or be applied in skills, crafts\nor trades in which there is a surplus of available labor in the\nlocality, except in the case of a prisoner who is to be employed by an\nemployer for whom he was employed as a free person prior to the\ncommencement of his sentence, and;\n (2) the rates of pay and other conditions of employment are not at\nleast equal to those paid or provided for work of a similar nature in\nthe locality in which the work is to be performed.\n (b) The state department of labor shall exercise the same supervision\nover conditions of employment for prisoners participating in the work\nrelease program as such department does over conditions of employment\nfor free persons.\n (c) In no event shall any work release program be permitted when there\nis any labor strike or lock-out in the establishment in which the\nprisoner is, or is to be, employed.\n