Michigan Compiled Laws, Chapter 801. Jails and Workhouses § 801.10

Sec. 10. (1) The county board of commissioners of any county, by resolution passed at any regular or special session, may order that prisoners over the age of 18 years under a sentence of imprisonment in the county jail, capable of performing manual labor, shall be required to work upon the public highways, streets, alleys, public roads, or railroad crossings in the county, or in any quarry, pit, or yard in the preparation or construction of materials for public highways, streets, alleys, roads, or railroad crossings in the county, to perform work for nonprofit charitable organizations including, but not limited to, churches and synagogues, or to perform any other lawful labor for the benefit of the county.When a resolution under this section is passed, the sheriff shall cause the prisoners to be put at work in the manner provided in the resolution of the county board of commissioners. The board of county road commissioners and the village or city authorities of any village or city in the county or the authorities in charge of any county institution may make application to have the prisoners work in any township, city, village, or institution in a manner prescribed by the county board of commissioners, and the county board of commissioners shall determine in which township, city, or village the prisoners shall work.

(2) A person, including a public official or public employee, shall not sell, hire, lease, loan, contract for, or otherwise use the labor of prisoners for his or her own private benefit or financial gain. A person who violates this subsection is responsible for a state civil infraction and may be ordered to pay a civil fine of not more than $500.00.

(3) A sheriff shall not derive any private benefit or financial gain from the provision of food to prisoners in the jail, whether by retaining the difference between money budgeted for food and money expended for food, or by any other method. This subsection does not prevent a sheriff from receiving a salary for duties that include supervising the operation of the jail. A sheriff who violates this subsection is responsible for a state civil infraction and may be ordered to pay a civil fine of not more than $500.00.