(a) The Commissioner shall have the authority to permit any inmate of any correctional facility to be gainfully employed outside the facility when the employment is determined to be in the best interests of the inmate and of the State, and when the inmate volunteers to participate in any work release program making provisions for gainful employment. Inmates may be employed by the State or by public or private employers. The rates of pay and other conditions of employment for an inmate released under this section shall be the same as those paid or required in the locality in which the work is performed.

(b) The Commissioner shall have the power and responsibility to make rules and regulations for the administration of any work release program authorized under this section.

(c) The Commissioner, before allowing any inmate to participate in a work release program, shall determine that the employment of the inmate will not cause the displacement of employed workers.

(d) A work release program may be extended to include the enrollment of an inmate in academic or vocational programs designed to improve the skills and abilities of the inmate.

(e) The time during which an inmate participates in a work release program outside a correctional facility shall be tabulated toward the serving of his or her sentence in the same manner as though the inmate had served such time at the facility. The inmate shall remain subject to the rules and regulations of the facility and be under the direction and control of the officers thereof during the period of his or her participation in the program. (Added 1971, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 20.)