“Work Furlough” in California – How do I get it instead of jail?

Work furlough is a free California program that allows you to live in a state-monitored facility and work a regular day job as long as there are less than 120 days left of your jail sentence.

If you ever violate the terms of work furlough, you can be removed from the program and returned to jail.

Note that work furlough is not the same thing as “work release.” As a “work release” inmate, you sleep at your home rather than the WF facility.

In this article, our California criminal defense attorneys discuss the following topics re. work furlough:

• 1. How does WF work?
• 2. Eligibility
• 3. Ineligibility
• 4. Violation Penalties
• 5. Costs
• 6. Benefits
• 7. Examples
• 8. Work Release Programs
• Additional Resources

1. How does WF work?

If you are enrolled in a California work furlough program, you are moved from county jail to a work furlough residential facility managed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

You check out of this facility in the morning to go to your worksite (usually for eight-to-ten hours). Then you must check back into the facility as soon as a workday is completed.

You will likely be required to take California public transportation to and from your job. In some cases, you work at the same job you had before getting convicted.

In addition to work, may be allowed to attend:

• school,
• substance abuse treatment,
• religious services, and
• programs like Anger Management.

WF facilities do allow visitors on weekends.¹

Conditions of Work Furlough

If you are granted work furlough, you must abide by various terms, such as:

• regularly checking in with law enforcement and/or submitting to electronic tracking;
• attending mandatory programs such as counseling, vocational classes, and/or education classes;
• abiding by travel and curfew rules;
• submitting to random testing for drugs and alcohol; and
• following any other conditions the judge imposes.

Work furlough programs are thought to reduce recidivism and improve mental health.

2. Eligibility

You may be eligible for work furlough in California if you are:

1. within 120 days of your scheduled release date from your jail sentence and
2. not otherwise ineligible for WF (discussed in the next section).

Furthermore, you must be gainfully employed for at least 35 hours per week. Plus, your job:

• must allow job site checks and telephone checks by WF staff,
• cannot be directly related to the offense you committed,
• cannot involve the use of weapons, and
• cannot involve access to another person’s personal information.

If you meet these qualifications, you can petition the court to assign you to a work furlough program. Note that the judge has the authority to either grant or deny this request.²

3. Ineligibility

You may be disqualified from a California work furlough program if:

1. you would pose an unreasonable risk to public safety,
2. your conviction was for a sex crime or arson,
3. you have a history of forced escape, or of drug use, sales, or addiction,
4. you have a history of serious institutional misconduct, or
5. you have more than one conviction for a violent crime.³

Some work furlough participants wear ankle monitors.

4. Violation Penalties

If you violate a work furlough condition in California, you can be forced to return to the regular county jail population to serve out the remainder of your sentence. Plus you will probably be unable to go on work furlough ever again. ⁴

Also, if this violation is a new criminal offense, then you may be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the facts involved.⁵

5. Costs

California courts may not charge you for participating in a work furlough program. The government covers the program’s costs. ⁶

6. Benefits

California work furlough programs are good for the government because they help alleviate overcrowding in correctional institutions.

WF is also beneficial to participants because it provides an opportunity to reintegrate into society and increase employment opportunities.⁷

Work Furlough is a form of alternative sentencing in California.

7. Examples

Work furlough is offered in many California counties. The following are official government links for some of these WF programs:

• Alameda County
• Sacramento County
• San Diego County
• San Joaquin County
• San Mateo County
• Solano County
• Yuba County

Note that each program has its own rules. For example, some counties may require electronic monitoring, and others may not.

8. Work Release Programs

Work furlough is not the same as work release in California. In a work release program, you get to sleep at your home with family – or at an approved transitional housing facility – rather than at a government facility.

Another difference is that work release counts as part of your jail sentence, and you receive credit for time served for your work hours.

Also, your WF job can be white- or blue-collar work. In contrast, work release jobs involve manual labor that helps the community. Some examples include:

• cleaning up graffiti,
• painting parks and traffic curbs,
• maintaining government buildings and grounds,
• picking up trash along a highway, or
• helping elders with yard work or other tasks.

However, work release can also include vocational training, alcohol or drug treatment, education classes (such as GED prep), life skills classes, and parenting classes. This can be in addition to – or instead of – manual labor.

Conditions for Work Release

To be eligible for work release in California, you have to be a low-risk, non-violent offender who demonstrated good behavior throughout your case. Work release programs are common in DUI cases.

Counties often offer full-time and part-time work release programs. Part-time programs typically involve doing work on the weekends so that you can keep your regular job.⁸ Throughout the program, you also have to check in regularly with the jail.

For an example, visit the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office Work Release Center site.

Work release typically consists of manual labor.

Additional Resources

For more in-depth information, refer to the following scholarly articles:

• Work Furlough as an Alternative to Incarceration: An Assessment of Its Effects on Recidivism and Social Cost – The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology.
• Evaluating Work Furlough – Federal Probation.
• Evaluating Work Furlough: A Followup – Federal Probation.
• Work Furlough and Punishment Theory – Criminology.
• Pay-to-Stay Programs in California Jails – Michigan Law Review.

Also see our article on Work Furlough in San Diego. 

Legal References: