Yesterday, the Biden administration announced a plan to eventually eliminate a policy that has allowed corporations to pay employees with disabilities less than the minimum wage for decades. Last year, the department launched a “comprehensive review of the program.” Yesterday, it proposed a rule that would prohibit new certificates and phase out existing ones over three years.
Subminimum wages are legal because disabled people have been allowed to be paid less than the minimum wage according to U.S. labor law since 1938. This law was enacted during the Great Depression to encourage more people to seek employment.
25 states have already sponsored or passed legislation to end this practice. Overall, fewer people are being paid subminimum wages. According to a January 2023 report to Congress from the United States Government Accountability Office, around 122,000 disabled workers were paid less than the federal minimum wage in 2019, compared to approximately 295,000 in 2010. As of September 2023, Labor Department data shows that the number of disabled people being paid less than the federal minimum wage had dropped below 43,000.
As of May, over 800 companies had certifications authorizing them to pay workers less than the minimum wage, affecting approximately 40,000 people, according to Kristin Garcia, deputy administrator of the Labor Department’s wage and hour division.
Certificates allowing employers to pay less than the minimum wage are “inherently based on a deeply flawed, false, ableist notion that disabled workers’ labor and contributions are less valuable than the labor and contributions of their nondisabled peers,” according to Maria Town, president of the American Association of People With Disabilities. “The ideas on which these certificates are based have no place in our modern society and workforce.”
However, some parents whose children are disabled, have lobbied for the program’s expansion, citing concerns over the loss of job opportunities or Social Security benefits. The Coalition for the Preservation of Employment Choice, a group of families, caregivers, and others who support the program’s existence, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Labor Department proposal. However, the group argues that eliminating the Act will reduce the number and diversity of employment opportunities for disabled people.
Kristina Mueller’s brother Matthew has worked at TTI Industries in Wisconsin for more than 20 years. He loves his job. Muller believes that even if Matthew was paid the minimum wage, he wouldn’t be able to advance. “If he makes above a certain amount of money, his SSI benefits automatically get reduced, and he then is also subject to losing his Medicaid benefits,” Kristina Mueller said.
The Labor Department’s proposed rule, even if it is finalized, faces several hurdles. It is likely to confront legal challenges and could be reversed under the incoming Trump administration. There has been debate about whether the department has the authority to change the program or if that power rests solely with Congress.
Disabled people should be paid fairly for their work. Data shows that we are dependable, creative, and diligent employees. Everyone should be paid fairly, regardless of disability.
Sources:
Debnath, Aditi. “Medicaid and Pay for Workers with Developmental Disabilities.” WPR, NPR , 9 Oct. 2024, http://www.wpr.org/news/pbs-wisconsin-medicaid-debate-workers-disabilities.
Kaye, Danielle. “U.S. Moves to End a Minimum Wage Waiver for Disabled Workers.” The New York Times, The New York Times Company, 3 Dec. 2024, http://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/03/business/economy/labor-disability-pay.html.
Selyukh, Alina. “Workers with Disabilities Can Earn JUST $3.34 an HOUR. Agency Says Law Needs Change.” NPR, NPR, 17 Sept. 2020, http://www.npr.org/2020/09/17/912840482/u-s-agency-urges-end-to-below-minimum-wage-for-workers-with-disabilities.
Williams, Tayrn M. “Examining 50 Years of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973- Advancing Access and Equity for Individuals with Disabilities.” The United States Department of Labor Blog, The United States Department of Labor , 28 Sept. 2023, blog.dol.gov/2023/09/28/examining-50-years-of-the-rehabilitation-act-of-1973-advancing-access-and-equity-for-individuals-with-disabilities.