(a) The board by rule shall require that participants at each private sector prison industries program be paid not less than the prison industry enhancement certification program (PIECP) wage as computed by the Texas Workforce Commission, except that:
(1) the board may permit employers to pay a participant the federal minimum wage for the two-month period beginning on the date participation begins; and
(2) the minimum wage for participants committed to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, because of the age of the participants and the extensive training component of their employment, is the federal minimum wage.
(b) For the purposes of computations required by this section:
(1) the PIECP wage is the wage paid by the employer for work of a similar nature in the location in which the work is performed;
(2) in the event that the employer has no employees other than those employed under this subchapter performing work of a similar nature within the location, the prevailing wage for work of a similar nature is determined by reference to openings and wages by occupation data collected by the labor market information department of the Texas Workforce Commission; and
(3) the location in which work is performed is the local workforce development area in which the work is performed.