The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled the sale of the Lake Erie Correctional Institution in Conneaut to Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America in 2011 did not violate the state constitution.
It was the first state prison in the nation to be sold to a private company. A lawsuit by several former prison employees and the union representing state employees challenged the sale alleging it violated a prohibition against state financial involvement with private enterprise. The justices also ruled the Ohio Employee Relations Board has jurisdiction to determine whether employees of privately owned or operated prisons are considered public employees.
