Working disabled people deserve more than minimum wage

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INWhen I became disabled in my late teens and began looking for work, I encountered barriers including disability discrimination, an inaccessible environment and prejudice. I lost my job simply because I was denied a free adaptation. My story is not unique. And this is just one example of how systemic barriers get in the way Disabled people from access to meaningful work.

Another huge one: the nearly 90-year-old federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which allows employers to pay disabled people less than minimum wage, sometimes just cents on the dollar. Finally, Congress is seriously considering legislation that would end this vestige of the New Deal, better known as Section 14(c), which confines people with disabilities to a life of poverty and segregation.

President Biden has advocated for an end to this discriminatory federal program, which is administered by the US Department of Labor, and disability rights advocates have worked with bipartisan congressional champions such as Democratic Senators Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Bobby Scott of Virginia, and Republican Senator Steve Daines . of Montana and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers of Washington to get passage of the competitive Integrated Employment Act (TCIEA) on the finish line as the 118th Congress winds down after the election. Republican leaders, including Neil Romano, support the reforms.

When President Roosevelt signed the FLSA in 1938, it was a landmark law that established minimum wages, overtime pay, and child labor protections, but it initially excluded several groups of workers. When it was first enacted, agricultural workers, domestic workers and others, many of whom belong to marginalized communities, including blacks and immigrant workers, were not covered by its protections. This was largely due to political compromises designed to gain support from southern Democrats who wanted to maintain the status quo of labor practices that benefited from the exploitation of these workers.

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Over time, the FLSA has been amended to include some of these previously excluded groups. In 1966, the Act extended to agricultural and restaurant workers, and in 1974 to domestic workers. But in 2024, working disabled people will be legally allowed to earn less than the minimum wage, depending on their productivity. Although efforts to phase out this exemption have increased in recent years, workers with disabilities remain the only group still subject to the minimum wage under federal law.

States like Alaska, Maryland, New Hampshire, and Vermont have already repealed Section 14(c), proving that a fair and just labor market for workers with disabilities is possible. Additionally, red states such as Utah have taken significant steps to end Section 14(c). It is time to bring this reform to the federal level.

The intent of Section 14(c) was to allow employers, especially closed workshops, to pay disabled workers based on their performance relative to non-disabled workers. The idea was that by offering below the minimum wage, employers would have an incentive to hire workers with disabilities who might otherwise be excluded from the workforce. However, this has become a convenient loophole for employers to obtain cheap labor by exploiting disabled workers without any consequences. By allowing such practices to continue, we are creating conditions for the exploitation of an already marginalized group, plunging them further into poverty rather than providing opportunities for growth and independence.

The idea that pay should be tied to performance is fundamentally flawed, especially considering that non-disabled workers are rarely, if ever, paid solely on the basis of their performance. In most industries, non-disabled workers are compensated at a standard rate regardless of their individual performance, and factors such as seniority, education or role within the company often play a much larger role in determining pay. If all workers, regardless of disability, were paid solely on the basis of performance, it would reveal the absurdity of this metric as a fair measure of value. Productivity varies depending on many factors, such as the workplace environment, working conditions, and access to resources—factors that disproportionately affect people with disabilities because system barriers they collide

Section 14(c) only masks a much bigger problem: broken and inaccessible systems that limit opportunities for people with disabilities.

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We need to reform systems that confine people with disabilities to decade-long state waiting lists to receive needed home and community services, that limit upward mobility to move state and change careers, and that confine our community to property and income restrictions that equate to a life of poverty. This is not the American Dream—a barrier to work, a choice between gainful employment and necessary support, perpetuation of poverty, and the near-impossibility of accumulating savings or financial stability.

Many people with disabilities are forced to start their own businesses because traditional work is not available – this is what I did, frustrated by my own struggles and the lack of representation of disabled people. Whether it’s inaccessible jobs, sub-minimum wages, or societal prejudice, people with disabilities face countless obstacles. We are often forced into entrepreneurship, but entrepreneurs with disabilities are forced 400 times less likely to receive venture capital than their non-disabled peers.

This is surprising given the labor shortage and the demand for creative, adaptable workers, qualities that people with disabilities possess to navigate a world not designed for us. despite this People with disabilities are twice as likely to be unemployed in the United Statesand those with intersectional identities face even higher rates.

Perhaps the most significant obstacle is societal attitudes, negative perceptions and assumptions about the abilities of people with disabilities. Many employers still hold the bias that people with disabilities are less capable, less productive, or need too many accommodations to be worth hiring. According to the Talent Innovation Center, 62% of employees with disabilities have “invisible limitations”, and many do not disclose them for fear of discrimination.

Addressing these barriers requires policy changes and a fundamental shift in how we view disability in the workplace. We need to recognize that people with disabilities bring valuable skills and perspectives and that, given the right access, they can succeed as well as, if not better than, their non-disabled counterparts, and that all of us, if we are lucky enough to live long lives, in will become disabled at some point. Disability is a natural part of human diversity.

As we reflect on the many challenges facing our community and how we hold our elected leaders accountable, we must start by eliminating the minimum wage. Then we can work to advance proactive federal solutions that create affordable, inclusive pathways to employment and entrepreneurship.

Having had to forge my own path when traditional employment closed its doors, I am committed to ensuring that no other person with a disability ever has to do the same. But if they want to, they should have the funding, support and access they need to succeed on their own terms.

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