Pay for people with disabilities

You know, occasionally as a Pennsylvanian with a disability who is often frustrated with the way that local, state, and federal government deal with issues surrounding people with disabilities in various capacities, I am very proud and somewhat hopeful, despite incremental progress and imperfect solutions. In September and October, I experienced two of those precious moments. The cause for my joy was Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act, which is a bipartisan bill introduced in 2021 that is currently in the Senate, endorsed and partially spearheaded by Pennsylvania senator Bob Casey, and the Subminimum Wage to Competitive Integrated Employment fund.

Why are they so important?

How did we get here?

Why are they worth celebrating?

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It all begins with the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which established many important precedence’s around child labor, and established a minimum wage. The trouble is with a section of the act, 14C, which allows places of employment they get a special license to pay disabled people subminimum wages, i.e. below the minimum wage. This is based on their productivity, and there is no floor for how little they can be paid. The president said by these laws means that disabled people are the only class of citizen that you are allowed to pay a substandard wage to based on an indelible trait. However, it is important to keep in mind that particular types of workers, like those who work in agriculture, prisoners, or tipped workers how are within a system which systemically discriminates, and is set up with that purpose in mind.

In many ways, this law was not designed maliciously, as it was intended to help ease the transition back to normal work for disabled soldiers returning from world wars. Another important component of the system, which is still partially in place today in certain states is sheltered workshops, which are employment centers designed only in specifically for people with disabilities, like the aforementioned soldiers, although today they’re made up of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities in the majority of cases. They were intended to serve as a stepping stone so that people could then transition. Only 5% end up doing so, according to the most recent report.. The average wage is $3.34, according to another recent report and overall 100,000 Americans with disabilities makes $7.25 an hour or less.

The bill that I mentioned would require the Department of Labor to award grants to businesses and government agencies to help them transform the way their businesses are run, and to require them to assist and provide oversight in this process. It would also abolish subminimum wages certificates, with a phasing out process of five years.

Additionally, the grant from the Department of Education’s Rehabilitation Services Administration awards $167 million to state Vocational Rehab agencies, in states that have not already phased out subminimum wage to work towards transitioning people with disabilities to jobs that pay competitive wages, and are “integrated”, meaning that in contrast to sheltered workshops, they are not solely intended for people with disabilities. Maybe we can have a token able-bodied co-worker as a treat 🙂 /s. Now that’s worth celebrating!

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