(A) The program for the employment of prisoners within the custody of the department of rehabilitation and correction that the department is required to establish by division (A) of section 5145.16 of the Revised Code shall be administered in accordance with any rules adopted pursuant to division (B) of section 5145.03 of the Revised Code and with the following requirements:

1. (1) The department shall consider the nature of the offense committed by a prisoner, the availability of employment, the security requirements for the prisoner, the prisoner's present state of mind, the prisoner's record in the institution to which the prisoner has been committed, and all other relevant factors when assigning a prisoner to the prisoner's initial job assignment. The department, when making a prisoner's initial job assignment, shall attempt to develop the prisoner's work skills, provide rehabilitation for the prisoner, consider the proximity to the prisoner's family, and permit the prisoner to provide support for the prisoner's dependents if the prisoner's earnings are sufficient for that to be feasible.

2. (2)

   1. (a) Except as provided in division (A)(2)(b) of this section, no prisoner shall be assigned to any job with the Ohio penal industries, or to any other job level or job grade of prisoner employment that the director of rehabilitation and correction may designate, unless the prisoner has obtained a high school diploma or a certificate of high school equivalence.

   2. (b) Division (A)(2)(a) of this section does not apply to either of the following:

      1. (i) A prisoner who is determined, in accordance with a procedure approved by the director, to be incapable of obtaining a diploma or certificate of high school equivalence;
      2. (ii) A prisoner working in the Ohio penal industries as of February 1, 1999, who applied on or before May 1, 1999, for enrollment in a program leading to a diploma or a certificate of high school equivalence, and who has been enrolled in that program for less than one year.
3. (3) Each prisoner shall be required to perform the prisoner's job satisfactorily, be permitted to be absent from the prisoner's job only for legitimate reasons, be required to comply with all security requirements, and be required to comply with any other reasonable job performance standards.
4. (4) A prisoner who advances from one job grade to the next higher job grade within the job level, advances from one job level to the next higher job level, or advances from one job category to the next highest job category shall receive additional benefits in accordance with the rules adopted pursuant to division (B) of section 5145.03 of the Revised Code.
5. (5) A prisoner shall not be eligible for a job in private industry or agriculture, unless the prisoner meets the requirements of the department for private employment that are set forth in rules adopted pursuant to division (B) of section 5145.03 of the Revised Code.
6. (6) A prisoner who violates the work requirements of any job grade, level, or category shall be disciplined pursuant to the disciplinary procedure adopted pursuant to division (B)(9) of section 5145.03 of the Revised Code.