When Jan Dougherty’s son, Ryan, graduated from high school in Canton, Ohio, in 2002, a school counselor and vocational rehabilitation provider told her the only place he belonged was a sheltered workshop. Told.
“I was told Ryan didn’t belong in the community,” says Doherty. Ryan, who has autism, was considered “too handicapped” to work.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), passed in 1938, established federal minimum wages, overtime pay guidelines, and limits on child labor. We also created a 14(c) certificate that allows employers to pay people with disabilities less than the minimum wage. According to his 2020 report for the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, an American with a disability, on average, he earns less than half the federal minimum wage per hour. In October 2022, at least 70,000 people with disabilities were working for her 14(c) certificate holders, making below minimum wage.
However, the report also highlights the lack of data on this practice. Neil Romano, chairman of the National Council on Disabilities, told the committee in his testimony:
In recent years, the number of people working in sheltered workshops below minimum wage has been steadily declining. However, full repeal of 14(c) certification has been delayed and is facing resistance from vocational rehabilitation service providers, who see sheltered workshops as a legitimate employment system for persons with disabilities.
The Department of Labor explains the purpose of the 14(c) certificate with benevolent protective rhetoric. It purports to “prevent the reduction of employment opportunities” for those whose income or productive capacity is impaired by age, physical or mental disability, or injury, to justify low wages and segregated workplaces. are doing.
The 14(c) certificate is a holdover from an injustice in the early 20th century when people with disabilities were isolated from mainstream life, ostensibly for their own protection and shelter. Today, however, 14(c) certification is inconsistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law in 1990. The law argues that disability is a natural part of the human experience and does not compromise an individual’s right to participate in all aspects of life. , including work.
The 14(c) certification also contradicts a 1999 U.S. Supreme Court decision. Olmsted vs LCstates that people with disabilities should live and receive services in an environment that is as integrated as possible and suited to their needs.
There is no limit to how much an employee working in a sheltered workshop can be paid, but wages are often determined by brutal calculations that distort the potential value of disabled people to the workforce. Federal regulations on sub-minimum wages suggest that the productivity loss of disabled workers can be calculated and measured relative to the productivity of non-disabled workers.
There is no limit to how much an employee working in a sheltered workshop can be paid, but wages are often determined by brutal calculations that distort the potential value of disabled people to the workforce.
“Given the type, quality and quantity of work done by disabled workers, the commensurate wages of disabled workers who are 75 per cent more productive than the average experienced non-disabled worker are: Set at 75 percent of wages paid, the FLSA said the act also suggests that time trials may be used to determine the productivity of individuals with disabilities. Comparable wages should be reviewed at least every six months and adjusted to reflect prevailing wages for similar jobs.Stricter government guidelines enacted in 2022 will require The lord must either provide information about the possibility of another job or be forced to pay minimum wage.
The Department of Labor’s Wages and Hours Division issues 14(c) certificates to four categories of businesses: for-profit businesses, hospital/residential facilities, work experience programs in schools, and non-profit community rehabilitation programs. According to the commission, the overwhelming majority (93%) of companies holding 14(c) certification are classified as community rehabilitation programs. These companies often act as both employers and service providers.
In 2016, researchers found that two-thirds of community rehabilitation programs provided non-labor services in addition to sub-minimum wage employment. These services may include physical, occupational, or speech therapy and social opportunities funded through federal and state grants for vocational rehabilitation services. Assistive services are federally and state funded, but below-minimum wages come directly from labor contracts that rehabilitation programs secure with private companies. According to a representative of one community rehabilitation program, these contracts “function like other worker contracts.” is considered an official employer even if a
Community rehabilitation programs often claim that sub-minimum wage employment is part of vocational training programs. In this program, jobs below minimum wage are completed as part of a temporary training program. Since 2014, all credential holders are required to provide career counseling and other resources to enable employees to pursue community-integrated employment at competitive wages. However, workers often remain in these programs for years and receive minimal wages for the rest of their lives.
Doherty wanted more for Ryan. Since he graduated from high school, she has advocated for the phasing out of her 14(c) certification to change Ohio employers’ perceptions of the skills and potential of workers with disabilities. I have fought.
She is currently co-president of the Ohio chapter of the Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE). Community Her rehabilitation programs are under increasing pressure from advocacy groups like APSE to move towards competitive and integrated employment rather than a model that separates workers with disabilities from the wider workforce. . Many programs focus on how to make this transition in the best way for employees and service her providers.
Ohio is not one of 17 states that have taken steps to guarantee minimum wages to workers with disabilities. On August 31, 2022, Democratic Rep. Brigid Kelly and Dontavius Jarrells introduced Ohio House Bill 716, which would eliminate the sub-minimum wage for people with disabilities in the state. Eleven state legislators (all Democrats) signed up as co-sponsors. Both Republicans and Democrats announced their support for ending the practice at the 2016 and 2020 national conventions, but Ohio Republicans did not co-sponsor the bill and did not reach a vote.
For now, Ohio maintains the practice of upholding 14(c) certification, but Ohio law does not allow employers to discriminate or limit a person’s employment opportunities on the basis of their disability. is stipulated to be illegal. Dougherty said plans are underway to reintroduce the bill in the state legislature later this year.
Some community rehabilitation programs oppose moving away from 14(c) certification. The Ohio Provider Resource Association (OPRA), which currently has 178 business members, is “collaborating to create a statewide service system that meets the needs of our ultimate customers, Ohioans with developmental disabilities,” according to its website. I work to do In Ohio, at least 14 community rehabilitation programs have been granted 14(c) certification for hiring workers below the minimum wage.
“The Ohio system has relied on 14(c) certification to provide as many job opportunities as possible to as many people as possible,” said Peter Moore, OPRA president and chief executive officer. says. progressive“In practice, 14(c) certification will enable providers to offer more job training and apprenticeship opportunities at lower wages.”
OPRA also has a bipartisan Political Action Committee (PAC). While OPRA does not have a formal position on 14(c) certification, Ohio House Bill 716 allows people with disabilities, their families, community businesses, and service providers to move away from the protected workshop model. I was concerned that I wasn’t providing enough time to transition. Moore said OPRA “doesn’t want a rip-off band-aid approach.” The bill would have provided him 18 months for Ohio businesses to transition out of using her 14(c) certificate, but federal law proposed his four-year transition period. I’m here.
More support and opportunities for people with disabilities in the general workforce are needed for a successful transition from sheltered workshops. Moore stresses the need to hire enough job coaches and community employment specialists to support the new model. Assisting persons with disabilities working in community-based employment can be staff and resource intensive.
After years of searching for the right opportunity, Ryan found a job in 2019. Today, Ryan works 24 hours a week at the hospital, unloading deliveries at the environmental services dock, and helping out where needed. A job coach supports him by checking in with him once a week. This job is a perfect fit for Ryan and matches his strengths and interests.
‘Ryan likes manual labor,’ says Doherty progressive“In a sheltered workshop, he would have done piecework and bagged shards of machine parts.”
Moore acknowledges that it can be difficult for people with disabilities to find local jobs. But Dougherty shows improvement. “Companies want her APSE to hire people with disabilities,” she says. “Employers know that people with disabilities have different skill sets. They generally want to work. There is no excuse not to help those with disabilities transition into the mainstream workforce.”
As of August of last year, 37.6% of people with disabilities in the United States were employed. The numbers are even lower for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. (From 2017 he was about 18% in 2018.) But Vermont, which has completely eliminated below-minimum wages, has the highest employment rate for people with disabilities.
14(c) certification discriminates against workers with disabilities, but changing the law alone is not enough to end the practice. A successful transition to competitive and integrated employment requires a deep understanding that people with disabilities are valuable members of the workforce and that employee value can manifest itself in diverse and unquantifiable ways. Belief is required.
