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What Are Prison Work Group Classification Levels?

Once a person arrives at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), a classification committee will set a person’s Work Group status.
Work groups, some of which affect credit-earning status, are divided as follows:
  1. Work Group A-1: This is a full-time assignment and involves inmates willing and able to perform “full time” programming assignments, including rehabilitative programs, college combined with a half-time work or vocational program. 15 C.C.R. § 2044(b)(1). Work Group A-1 includes people in some “special assignments” like Inmate Advisory Council pre-release programs, or reentry hub programs. 15 C.C.R. § 3043.7. People with “complete” disabilities who are not capable of performing in any assignment should be placed in Work Group A-1. People with “partial disabilities” shall be placed in Work Group A-1 and given an assignment within their physical and mental capability. 15 C.C.R. 3044(b)(1)(D) – (E).
  2. Work Group A-2: This describes inmates who are “involuntarily unassigned,” meaning they are willing to work, but are not provided with an assignment because they are on a waiting list for an assignment or unassigned while awaiting an adverse transfer. 15 C.C.R. § 3044(b)(2). People who are in a Restrictive Custody General Population Unit (RCGP) due to rule violations or failure to program in the Step Down Program (SDP) are Work Group A-2 (unless they were previously deemed a program failure and placed in Work Group C). 15 C.C.R. § 3389.9(e) – (f).
  3. Work Group B: This group describes a half-time assignment group. Inmates in this group are often full-time college students without another assignment. 15 C.C.R. § 3044(b)(3).
  4. Work Group C: Assignment to this group is for disciplinary reasons. Inmates who refuse to work in a program assignment, who twice refuse assigned housing, or who are removed from assignments for repeated rule violations (more than two serious disciplinary violations or one serious and two administrative disciplinary violations in the last 180 days). The person may remain in Group C for a period not to exceed the number of days of credit forfeited for the disciplinary violation. 15 C.C.R. § 3044(b)(4). Assignment to this group decreases the amount of credit a person earns.
  5. Work Group D-1: An inmate in this group is in lockup status. Inmates placed in any type of segregated housing (such as a Security Housing Unit (SHU)), Administrative Segregation Unit (ASU) or Psychiatric Services Unit (PSU), unless they meet the criteria for Work Group D-2. D-1 status applies to inmates in Non-Disciplinary Segregation (NDS) placement. 15 C.C.R. § 3044(b)(5). People in the Step Down Program (SDP) are in Work Group D-1. Penal Code § 2933.6; C.C.R. § 3043.2, 15 C.C.R. § 3044(b)(5); 15 C.C.R. § 3378(a).
  6. Work Group D-2: Inmates in D-2 are in lock-up status and receive zero credit. Some inmates who are placed in the SHU, ASU or PSU placements are in D-2 because of being found guilty of a serious disciplinary offense and assessed a credit loss and an SHU term. The D-2 status is limited in duration to the lesser of the period of credit forfeiture or 180 days, except that D-2 status shall last 360 days if the person committed an A-1 disciplinary offense that resulted in great bodily injury to someone who is no incarcerated, such as prison staff or volunteers. In unusual cases, D-2 status can be extended in six month intervals beyond the normal period if a classification committee determines that program assignment would present a substantial risk of serious harm.
  7. Work Group F: This is for inmates in minimum security and firefighting. Such inmates receive two-for-one credits. This group is for people statutorily eligible for day-for-day credits and assigned to Minimum A or Minimum B Custody and any person who has completed training to be assigned to a fire camp or as a firefighter. Penal Code § 2933.3; 15 C.C.R. § 3044(b)(7). People with mental health and medical issues are not necessarily excluded from these placements or eligibility to earn two-for-one credits; eligibility is considered on a case-by-case basis. Also, inmates who are excluded from Minimum Custody solely due to the need for medical or mental health care should be granted two-for-one credits. CDCR Memorandum: Minimum A Custody and Minimum B Custody Criteria and Application (June 5, 2016).
  8. Work Group M: Minimum Custody inmates are in this group. They earn two-for-one credits. This is often for inmates who qualify for Work Group F but for medical or mental health care needs. This is also for inmates with out-of-state warrants but no detainers and the other state states it will not extradite to prosecute. This is also the group for inmates who are delayed in a reception center beyond 60 days due to disability or dialysis needs.
  9. Work Group U: This stands for unclassified inmates, normally inmates who are in a CDCR reception center or who are awaiting classification at their assigned institution. 15 C.C.R. § 3044(b)(8).
This article would not be possible without reference to the excellent treatise, California Prison and Parole Law Handbook, that is generously provided online by the Prison Law Group in Folsom, CA.
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