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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>It was very easy. I suggest circulating this to friends and family. The issue is straightforward and, honestly, non-partisan. It’s a no-brainer. <b>No</b> politician would like to be known as voting in favor of this debacle. Join voices and act now!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Papyrus;font-variant:small-caps;color:#1F497D'>Trudy <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> ct-nfb-bounces@nfbnet.org [mailto:ct-nfb-bounces@nfbnet.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Deb Reed<br><b>Sent:</b> Monday, July 11, 2011 5:43 PM<br><b>To:</b> NFB of Connecticut Mailing List<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [Ct-nfb] RESOLUTION 2011-17 Regarding the Workforce Investment Act Reauthorization<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>Thank's to all our members who worked on this very important resolution in Florida! I called early on to Senator Blumenthal's office and stated our position and the assistant took my zip code and that was that. It only takes a minute.<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal>On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 2:31 PM, <<a href="mailto:llee@nfbct.org">llee@nfbct.org</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'> Here is a resolution that was passed at the NFB National Convention last week.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid blue 1.5pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:6.0pt;margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt'><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><br>RESOLUTION 2011-17<br>Regarding the Workforce Investment Act Reauthorization<br>Proponent:<br><br>WHEREAS, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and <br>Pensions has distributed language for the reauthorization of the <br>Workforce Investment Act including a proposed Section 511 of Title V <br>(the Rehabilitation Act), which would provide for employment of <br>people with significant disabilities at wages below the federally <br>mandated minimum wage; and<br><br>WHEREAS, the proposed language of Section 511 would be a tacit <br>endorsement of the subminimum wage provision found in Section 14(c) <br>of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and its antiquated contention <br>that people with disabilities cannot be competitively employed; and<br><br>WHEREAS, this language links the Rehabilitation Act, which was <br>established to assist people with disabilities in obtaining <br>competitive integrated employment, with Section 14(c) of the FLSA, <br>which is based on the false premise that people with disabilities can <br>not be competitively employed and therefore can be paid subminimum wages;<br>and<br><br>WHEREAS, the language in Section 511 that defines what steps a <br>vocational rehabilitation counselor must take before steering a <br>client into subminimum-wage employment is intended to prevent youth <br>with disabilities from being tracked into subminimum-wage jobs, but <br>is likely instead to track clients into subminimum-wage employment; and<br><br>WHEREAS, language in Section 511 asserts that employers holding a <br>certificate that allows them to pay subminimum wages can also serve <br>as training facilities for people with disabilities, a claim that <br>ignores the fact that job training services provided by an employer <br>holding a special wage certificate are likely to reinforce the low <br>expectation that workers with disabilities cannot be competitively <br>employed, since the incentive is for the employer to continue <br>exploiting their labor rather than prepare workers for other employment; and<br><br>WHEREAS, the Section 511 documentation and review process, which is <br>meant to provide safeguards against inappropriate use of <br>subminimum-wage employment, does not take into consideration the fact <br>that state Vocational Rehabilitation programs do not have the <br>resources to ensure effective compliance with the various <br>documentation and review requirements, including the six-month review <br>period in the proposed language, creating an opportunity to expand <br>the exploitation caused by Section 14(c) of the FLSA; and<br><br>WHEREAS, the good intentions motivating the development of Section <br>511 are likely to result in enormous negative consequences, <br>especially the validation of subminimum-wage employment as a viable <br>outcome for people with disabilities; and<br><br>WHEREAS, the language does not provide an effective procedure for <br>workers to challenge improper placement in such employment: Now, therefore,<br><br>BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention<br><br>assembled this seventh day of July, 2011, in the city of Orlando, <br>Florida, that this organization call on members of the Senate <br>Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to remove Section <br>511 of the proposed Rehabilitation Act; and<br><br>BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we call upon all members of Congress, <br>not to address the unjust law of Section 14(c) with ineffective <br>measures, but to take direct action to abolish the reprehensible <br>practice of subminimum-wage employment forever. <br><br><br>_______________________________________________<br>Nfbnet-members-list mailing list<br><a href="mailto:Nfbnet-members-list@nfbnet.org" target="_blank">Nfbnet-members-list@nfbnet.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></blockquote></div><p class=MsoNormal><br>_______________________________________________<br>Ct-nfb mailing list<br><a href="mailto:Ct-nfb@nfbnet.org">Ct-nfb@nfbnet.org</a><br><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org" target="_blank">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org</a><br>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Ct-nfb:<br><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org/deb.reed57%40gmail.com" target="_blank">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org/deb.reed57%40gmail.com</a><o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>