Legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour was initially part of The American Rescue Plan, a huge piece of legislation that was passed by Congress and signed by President Biden on March 11, 2021. It was removed before the bill was voted on, but proposals to raise the federal minimum wage continue as stand-alone bills in Congress. The Raise the Wage Act of 2021 has the most support at the moment, and will likely come up for consideration in the future.
Although raising the federal minimum wage is supported by a majority of Americans, the Raise the Wage Act includes a proposal that would adversely affect thousands of people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD), especially those who are unable to work in integrated work settings for competitive wages. Part of the proposed legislation would phase out and then eliminate work programs that make accommodations for people with the most severe behavioral and intellectual disabilities. One of those accommodations is the use of special wage certificates that allow employers to pay less than minimum wage to people unable to successfully compete with other workers in competitive work settings. These work programs (formerly called sheltered workshops) are voluntary on the part of the disabled employees. They usually provide other social services along with supervised work opportunities. Many of the participants receive support from other government programs and do not rely solely on their employment for basic living expenses. Programs that help disabled employees include SSI (Supplemental Security Income), Medicaid health insurance, and home and community based services to meet the extensive needs of this population. Other employees live in federally regulated Medicaid-funded Intermediate Care Facilities for people with intellectual disabilities. The proposed legislation will result in fewer employment opportunities for these workers, not more. Most will lose programs in settings appropriate to their needs.
The following is a message to Congress from VOR (a Voice Of Reason) warning of the consequences of eliminating special wage certificates and reducing opportunities for work by people with I/DD.
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Please Oppose Elimination of the Section 14(c) Subminimum Wage Certificate Program that Provides for Vocational Work Centers for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
VOR is a grassroots advocacy organization comprising mostly families of individuals with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), often complicated by significant medical, psychological, and/or behavioral conditions. Just as your neighbors and friends vary in ability, so do people in the disability community. The only difference is that the variance is far greater, with some older individuals with I/DD functioning at the level of young children. VOR has advocated for nearly 40 years for Congress and the public to recognize these differences and make sure these individual needs are not ignored in the push by other advocacy groups for everyone with I/DD “to live a life like yours in the community.” Our approach has been to advocate for a full range of residential options to meet the needs of individuals instead of the one-size-fits all approach. Consistent with this view, we support maintaining a full range of employment options for the I/DD community, making sure these opportunities provide for those who can succeed in competitive integrated employment as well those who cannot.
The American Rescue Plan, H.R. 603 and S. 53, include provisions to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour for all workers, including all individuals with I/DD. This legislation would phase out the section14(c) program authorized by the Fair Labor Standards Act. The unintended consequence of such a broad provision would be to completely eliminate employment opportunities for thousands of the nation’s most disabled individuals.
What are specialized wage certificates and why is it important to retain them? Section 14(c) [of the Fair Labor Standards Act] authorizes the issuance of these certificates that permit employers to pay individuals with I/DD lower than the federal minimum wage when their level of productivity is so low as to make them noncompetitive in the general workforce. It requires employers to make special accommodations for their intellectual, physical, behavioral, and mental illness challenges, giving thousands of individuals with I/DD the opportunity to work in a specialized environment that nurtures them and fits their abilities.
They earn wages that are appropriate to their level of productivity and their capacity to work. Without 14(c) certificates, they would lose any opportunity to work.
What is the argument for eliminating the program? Support for eliminating this program rests on the false premise that this is a civil rights issue, i.e., that all individuals, including those with I/DD, can perform work tasks at a level that warrants the minimum wage, and so should be paid accordingly. This is simply not true, and were this notion to be incorporated into legislation, it would result in many individuals with severe I/DD disabilities losing, not gaining, work opportunities. Surely, that is not the goal of this provision.
Who are the individuals who benefit from the 14(c) program, what do they do, and how does it enrich their lives? Employment usually takes place at facility-based work centers, formerly called “sheltered workshops”. These vocational centers provide a specialized environment adapted to individuals with I/DD who desire to work, but may have frequent seizures, act out physically, even violently, when stressed, or need help toileting or having their adult diapers changed.
At the centers, workers crush cans, fold letters for mailing, stuff envelopes, fill soda bottles and cough drop boxes, pack and label items, and perform many small-piece assembly tasks. Each of these employees has a job coach (direct support professional). Sometimes they work alone and sometimes they perform these tasks with assistance. If the work centers had to pay them minimum wage, they would have to close, leaving the workers unemployed.
These centers provide more than employment. They also afford workers opportunities to build self-esteem, develop friendships, and engage in their communities. People who work at these centers do so without fear of being fired, or of having to live up to competitive standards of productivity in order to show their worth. Earned wages, though appreciated, are not the substantive reward for these individuals.
Congress should expand, not decrease, employment opportunities for all people with I/DD. This is not a binary, either/or, situation. Congress can help those who can perform in a competitive environment without depriving those who are less able from the opportunity to work. VOR supports paying minimum wage to people with I/DD who are able to work in the competitive workplace.
However, ignoring the reality of different degrees of disability would result in thousands losing their jobs. This must not be the outcome. The answer is simple – pay minimum wage to people with I/DD who can, with reasonable accommodations, perform at a competitive productivity level and continue the
section 14(c) program for those who cannot.
Retaining specialized wage certificates under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act and supporting work centers will help persons with severe intellectual, behavioral, and medical challenges continue to find success in productive work, earn a wage, build self-confidence, make friends, and participate in their communities.
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Read more:
"An Existential Threat against the Significantly Disabled:
Phase-Out of Vocational Centers (Sheltered Workshops)", by Harris Capps, November 2019
"Subminimum Wage: Exploitation or Lifesaving?"
