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Judge: State inmates not entitled to minimum wage

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a Nebraska prisoner who argued that he should be making minimum wage for his work behind bars.Stephen Cavanaugh sued several state prison officials earlier this year, saying that over the past year, he was assigned to work as a food server, window washer and maintenance worker and paid between $1.21 and $2.25 a day.

His lawsuit says he should have been paid minimum wage of $7.25 an hour and asked a federal judge to award him nearly $3,400, plus $350 for his legal costs.

U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp dismissed the lawsuit Wednesday, saying that while state law sets minimum wage, another state law specifically allows the prisons director to determine the hours prisoners work and their rate of compensation.

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