{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.warren.senate.gov/oversight/letters/senators-warren-and-baldwin-seek-gao-investigation-of-mandatory-work-requirements-at-drug-and-alcohol-rehabilitation-facilities-receiving-federal-funding", "Senators Warren and Baldwin Seek GAO Investigation of Mandatory Work Requirements at Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Facilities Receiving Federal Funding", "2020-11-23", "2020", "2020-11", "Democrat", "Senate", "MA", "Elizabeth Warren", "W000817", "www.warren.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "November 23, 2020\n\t\t\t Senators Warren and Baldwin Seek GAO Investigation of Mandatory Work Requirements at Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Facilities Receiving Federal Funding \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t A recent investigation found that individuals at these facilities are being required to work, unpaid, as part of their treatment program, creating a \"huge, unpaid shadow workforce\"; \"Individuals struggling with substance use disorder who attend rehabilitation programs should never be subjected to predatory conditions that threaten their recovery and violate their rights under the law\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t Text\r\nof Letter (PDF) Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren\r\n(D-Mass.), a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP)\r\nCommittee, and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ranking Member of the\r\nSubcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, sent a letter requesting that\r\nthe Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigate mandatory vocational\r\nrequirements at drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities that receive federal\r\nfunding. Their request follows arecent\r\ninvestigation by the Center for Investigative Reporting which found that\r\nindividuals at some drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities are being\r\nrequired to work, unpaid, as part of their treatment program, creating a\r\n\"huge, unpaid shadow workforce.\" Some rehabilitation facilities have mandatory work requirements, described\r\nas vocational therapy, in which facilities send participants to work for\r\ncontractors of or directly at private companies, with these individuals\r\nreceiving little to no pay for their labor. This practice appears to be a\r\nviolation of federal labor law, but has escaped federal enforcement. \"Requiring individuals to work without compensation is a violation of\r\nthe Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which establishes standards for labor\r\nprotections including minimum wage and overtime pay,\" the senators\r\nwrote. Additionally, the senators noted there appears to be little evidence that\r\nuncompensated work therapy programs have treatment benefits. Substance Abuse\r\nand Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)guidance\r\naffirms that \"few studies have addressed the effectiveness of vocational\r\nservices in substance abuse treatment settings,\" and that programs\r\ninvestigated through those existing studies \"did not demonstrate much\r\nlong-term effect and did not decrease substance use.\" \"Individuals struggling with substance use disorder who attend\r\nrehabilitation programs should never be subjected to predatory conditions that\r\nthreaten their recovery and violate their rights under the law. Federal funding\r\ndedicated to supporting individuals and communities navigating substance use\r\ndisorder must be used in service of evidence-based prevention, treatment, and\r\nrecovery,\" the senators wrote. The senators asked the GAO to investigate (1) the extent to which federal\r\nfunding was provided to rehabilitation facilities with mandatory work\r\nrequirements; (2) whether the evidence shows that mandatory work requirements\r\nsupport addiction treatment and recovery; and (3) what oversight exists to\r\nensure individuals in rehabilitation programs are fairly compensated, and that\r\nprograms follow relevant labor and employment law. ###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://www.warren.senate.gov/oversight/letters/senators-warren-and-baldwin-seek-gao-investigation-of-mandatory-work-requirements-at-drug-and-alcohol-rehabilitation-facilities-receiving-federal-funding"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4021419920027256, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}