Opinion ID: 1492
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: Plaintiffs Tony Serra, Jeanine Santiago, and Victor Cordero are current and former inmates of federal prisons in California, who were sentenced to terms of incarceration after being convicted of federal crimes. [1] While serving their sentences, they worked under the auspices of either Federal Prison Industries, a wholly owned government corporation known by the trade name UNICOR, see 18 U.S.C. §§ 4121-29; 31 U.S.C. § 9101(3)(E), or the Inmate Work and Performance Pay Program, see 18 U.S.C. § 4125. Federal Prison Industries is authorized to pay its inmate-workers wages set by its Board of Directors pursuant to a delegation of authority from the Attorney General. See 18 U.S.C. § 4126(c)(4); 28 C.F.R. § 345.10. Under the Inmate Work and Performance Pay Program, wages are determined according to regulations promulgated by the Bureau of Prisons under the authority of the Attorney General. See 18 U.S.C. § 4125(d); 28 C.F.R. § 545.26. Plaintiffs earned between $19.00 and $145.00 per month at rates as low as nineteen cents per hour. Plaintiffs contend that by paying them such low wages, Defendants Harley Lappin, Director of the Bureau of Prisons; B.G. Compton, Warden of Lompoc Prison; and Robert McFadden, Director of the Western Regional Office of the Bureau of Prisons, violated Plaintiffs' rights under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution; articles 7 through 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Dec. 16, 1966, 999 U.N.T.S. 171; a U.N. document entitled Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners; [2] and the law of nations. [3] The district court granted Defendants' motion to dismiss the action in its entirety and denied Plaintiffs' motion for leave to amend their complaint to name Defendants in their individual capacities and to state a cause of action under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b).