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Disability-Minimum-Wage-Law

Subminimum Wage Policy Being Reviewed By Labor Department for Disabled Workers

34.8% of Americans, ages 16 to 64, are persons with a disability. This statistic only started tracking in 2008, however, recently this percentage has hit its highest rate. Those that are disabled are landing jobs at record numbers.

“The increase [in people with disabilities securing employment] is fantastic,” said Craig Leen, an attorney with K&L Gates in Washington, D.C., and a former director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. “Individuals with disabilities have historically experienced a much higher unemployment rate and much lower labor force participation rate than the population generally, making individuals with disabilities the largest potential group of untapped labor in the U.S.”

The Pandemic really opened doors for those needing special adaptive environments to be able to work full time. While the workforce was forced to adjust to working conditions from home, those with special needs had the advantage of landing roles remotely and were already set up with their own necessary accommodations. Some of these modifications would have previously prevented a disabled worker from being offered a position if an employer did not have the tools or proper alterations necessary.

 

Minimum-Wage-Disability-Law

 

Subminimum Wage Policy

Unfortunately, in many parts of the U.S., it’s still legal to pay people with disabilities less than the minimum wage. This is referred to as a subminimum wage. Federal regulations permit companies to apply for special certificates allowing them to hire disabled workers and pay them less than $4 an hour.

The Department of Labor(DOL) is planning a comprehensive review of the policy. The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) released the following statement in support of the Department of Labor’s announcement:

AAPD is excited by the Department of Labor’s decision to review the viability of the 14(c) certificate program, which has allowed employers to pay disabled workers subminimum wages in segregated settings for almost a century. Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act allows employers to obtain certificates to pay employees with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage, or subminimum wage.

Disabled employees of 14(c) certificate holders complete the same workplace tasks as their nondisabled peers but are not paid equally for their work. Since there is no minimum wage requirement for 14(c) certificate holders, these employers can pay however little they want. Further, these workers are often warehoused together and do not receive opportunities for career advancement or development.

Maria Town, AAPD President and CEO  discussed how the 14(c) certificates are “inherently based on a deeply flawed and false idea that disabled workers’ labor is worth less. It is a policy rooted in a charity model of disability that communicates to disabled employees, ‘you should be grateful for whatever you can get.’” She goes on to note “fifty years after the signing of the Rehabilitation Act, it is clear that what we need to improve disabled people’s economic self-sufficiency is not charity – it is greater enforcement of our civil rights and advancement of fair labor practices. 14(c) certificate programs benefit from our community’s underemployment, while only furthering the forced poverty many disabled people face.”

 

Social-Security-Disability-Wage-Law

Current Wage Concerns

Minimum wage and segregated employment are not new concepts. These are concerns are amongst a national conversation of what workers protest are fair wages. Especially with the immense increase in COLA, or Cost Of Living Adjustment, made by the Social Security Administration each year.

Currently, Sixteen states have passed legislation eliminating subminimum wage, while six states introduced legislation eliminating subminimum wage within their chambers.

Some states have banned the practice due to pressure from those in the disability advocacy community who abrade the unequal pay standards, according to Kelly Nye-Lengerman, director of the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire. She says, “we’ve seen the numbers of subminimum wage certificate holders shrink over the last 5, 10, 20 years, but there are still thousands of people with disabilities that are paid subminimum wage in the United States today.”

With big changes under consideration, federal officials want to hear from workers with disabilities about their experiences with a program that allows employers to pay them less than minimum wage as they re-examine the future viability of the certificate program. Such big changes are prospective to get pushback from those who say the subminimum wage is necessary to provide sustainable employment for people facing discrimination by traditional employers.

Contact Lowery Law Group at info@lowerylegal.com or call (843) 991-0733. There is no fee for a free consultation regarding your claim. Lowery Law Group is experienced in handling cases in South Carolina as well as Georgia.