So what's the minimum?

 So, What’s the Minimum

Right now, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.   That’s pretty low and it’s hard to believe that anyone could live on that amount of money.  But some folks get are paid even less.

Under a law dating back to the 1930’s, employers can receive a special certificate and pay workers with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage.  This is the 14(c) certificate.

We regularly read about workers not being able to live on the $15/hour wage that many states have adopted for typical workers.

Disability advocates have strongly argued that this provision of the law is preventing people with disabilities from gaining any independence.  The provision is called the 14( c) provision.

The Labor Department has now determined that it is going to open a review of the law.  It is asking stake holders to come forth and talk about their experiences with the program and what changes are needed to expand equal opportunity experiences for people with disabilities.

The review comes after expressed concerns from the Government Accountablilty Office, the National Council on Disabilities, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and the Labor Department’s Advisory Committee on Increasing Competitive Integrative Employment.  

In May, dozen disability organizations called on the Labor Department to issue a moratorium on the issuance of new certificates that allow employers access to this below minimum wage option.  

Sixteen states have passed legislation banning the practice.  The president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities and the time has come to move away from this program.  She said it has created subminimum and segregated employment situations.   Many years ago, sheltered workshops provided daytime employment for people with disabilities.  Wages were based on the number of pieces a worker could produce in an hour.  These workshops were disallowed and have ceased to exist.  But the continuation of 14( c) certificates, allowing employers to pay less than $7.25 an hour to a person with a disability, is the same situation just dressed differently.

Everything Old is new again

 Everything old is new again

 

Many years ago children with less than typical intelligence were called retarded.   It was decided that was unkind so now those individuals are called intellectually disabled.

What else has changed besides a better vocabulary?  Sadly not so much.

Years ago students with limited intelligence were classified as “trainable”.  They attended school and were taught to handle daily living skills and to do repetitive job tasks.  Their teachers were often acknowledged by administrators as being the weakest teachers.   I was told by an assistant superintendent of a local school system that they “assigned the teachers who couldn’t teach to the students who couldn’t learn.  No harm no foul”.

Today these youngsters still get the weakest teachers, because the unions do everything they can to keep these people from being terminated.  What else is the district to do with them.  If you go into one of the classes for the intellectually disabled you are most likely to attend a “movie day” when students are watching a movie.  On another day you might see the students coloring very primary looking worksheets.  Or perhaps doing some simple craft. 

Years ago, when these students aged out of school they attended “sheltered workshops” where they were paid pennies for piece work.  The tasks were repetitive such as stuffing plastic flatware into bags for restaurants or packaging marketing materials for give-a-ways.   But those facilities were outlawed as being exploitive and they were.  But they did provide a social setting and a sense of work.

Today, federal funds are provided for agencies to offer work training and daily activities.   Sometimes the adults work in cohorts at airports or other large facilities as cleanup crews with a non-disabled supervisor.  At these jobs they earn minimum wage.  Problem is there are not enough federal funds to provide service to all of the individuals who need the help.  So those people without the federal funding support get to stay at home.

Years ago, transition services were almost nonexistent.  Transition services are supposed to assist the individual in making the transition from school to work.

Today every school has transition service.   But the service is so poorly staff it is like dragging one chicken leg through several gallons of water and calling it chicken soup.  It is not unusual for one transition specialist to be responsible for over 100 students! Hardly sufficient staff to help anyone.

Everything new might not be as good as everything old.  Sometimes the good old days really were.