[MN-at-Large] 2024 State Legislative Priorities: Fact Sheet for Day at the Capitol

[David Andrews]

>
>Good evening members,
>
>Â
>
>With gratitude to our Government Affairs 
>Committee for drafting it, I am excited to share 
>the text of our 2024 state legislative 
>priorities below my email signature. While the 
>official RSVP deadline has passed for our Day at 
>the Capitol, I’m confident that we can always 
>use the help of a few more folks. If you’re 
>able to join us at the State Capitol on Wednesday, please let me know!
>
>Â
>
>See you at 8:15 AM on Wednesday!
>
>Â
>
>Corbb
>
>Â
>
>Corbb O'Connor (he/him), President
>
>National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota
>
><http://www.nfbmn.org>www.nfbmn.org | (612) 872-936
>
>Â
>
>Â
>
>
>Legislative Priorities:
>
>
>
>Â
>
>TO:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  Members of 
>the 2024 Minnesota Legislature
>
>FROM:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  National 
>Federation of the Blind of Minnesota (NFBMN)
>
>RE:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  Legislative Agenda for the 2024 Session
>
>DATE: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  February 21, 2024
>
>Â
>
>Â
>
>
>Protect Civil Rights of Parents with Disabilities
>
>
>
>ISSUE—Parents with disabilities have ssometimes 
>been denied the opportunity for adoption, or 
>have lost child custody or parenting time on the 
>basis of a disability, without specific evidence 
>supporting the decision. Stronger protection 
>under the law is needed to eliminate the bias 
>and discrimination that people with disabilities 
>face in court decisions regarding custody/parenting time or adoption.
>
>The proposed legislative solution does not 
>require new services or additional funding. 
>Rather, it sets a framework of procedural 
>safeguards if disability is raised as a factor in an adoption or custody case.
>
>Â
>
>BACKGROUND—Vast experience demonstrates that 
>disability is not a relevant ffactor in whether 
>a person is fit to be a parent. For example, the 
>National Federation of the Blind has documented 
>thousands of cases of blind people who are 
>successfully raising children, many right here 
>in Minnesota. Unfortunately, in too many cases, 
>the 
><https://www.nfb.org/sites/www.nfb.org/files/images/nfb/publications/brochures/blindparents/parentingwithoutsight.html>capabilities 
>of blind individuals to care for children are 
>often brought into question even when they have 
>been successfully caring for their children for many years.
>
>Â
>
>In September 2012, the National Council on 
>Disability issued a report entitled 
><https://ncd.gov/publications/2012/sep272012/>Rocking 
>the Cradle: Ensuring the Rights of Parents with 
>Disabilities and Their Children. This report 
>states that parents with disabilities, “are 
>the only distinct community of Americans who 
>must struggle to retain custody of their 
>children.” The report goes on to say, “In 
>families where the parental disability is 
>physical, 13 percent have reported 
>discriminatory treatment in custody cases. 
>Parents who are deaf or blind report extremely 
>high rates of child removal and loss of parental rights.”
>
>Â
>
>The Minnesota Legislature has demonstrated its 
>understanding that disabled parents should not 
>be denied a role in raising their children 
>merely on the basis of disability. MS 518.17 
>Subdivision 1b(5) states that "Disability alone, 
>... of a proposed custodian or the child shall 
>not be determinative of the custody of the 
>child." Although this law was a positive step, 
>the language should be strengthened to require 
>the court to show that no discrimination on the 
>basis of disability has occurred, and to take 
>into account the use of supportive parenting 
>services which can often resolve concerns before 
>limiting or denying custody rights.
>
>Â
>
>LEGISLATIVE SOLUTION—The propossed legislation 
>will protect the rights of parents with 
>disabilities in adoption or custody cases by 
>establishing the following safeguards:
>    * Any petition to deny or limit parental 
> rights must not be based on the presence of a 
> disability but rather on a parent or prospective parent's specific behaviors;
>    * The party raising the concern has the 
> burden to prove that specific behaviors will endanger the child;
>    * The parent must have the opportunity to 
> demonstrate how the use of supportive parenting 
> services (for example, mentoring from other 
> parents or learning new techniques) can alleviate concerns;
>    * If a denial or limitation occurs, the 
> court must state in writing the reasons for the 
> decision, including why supportive parenting 
> services could not be used to prevent the denial or limitation.
>
>Â
>
>GOAL—Keep families together by strengthening 
>legal protectionns for parents with disabilities.
>
>Â
>
>
>End Subminimum Wages for Workers With Disabilities in Minnesota
>
>
>
>ISSUE—In 2023, the Minnesota Legislature 
>established resources and iinfrastructure to 
>assist and incentivize employers to transition 
>away from the antiquated and discriminatory 
>practice of paying workers with disabilities 
>below the minimum wage. This investment was a 
>meaningful first step, but Minnesota should 
>affirmatively disallow payment of subminimum 
>wages by setting a date certain after which the 
>use of certificates under 14(c) of the Fair 
>Labor Standards Act will be prohibited.
>
>Â
>
>BACKGROUND—Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor 
>Standards Act of 1938 permitss employers to pay 
>people with disabilities at a rate less than the 
>federal minimum wage. This is done by obtaining 
>special minimum wage certificates from the 
>United States Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.
>
>Â
>
>During the 85 years since the establishment of 
>the program, greater awareness about the 
>capacities of people with disabilities, along 
>with 
><https://www.usccr.gov/files/2020/2020-09-17-Subminimum-Wages-Report.pdf>serious 
>concerns about the exploitative and 
>discriminatory nature of this model, have come 
>to light. There is increasing consensus from 
>federal government agencies, state governments, 
>and advocates that the subminimum wage model of 
>employment is outdated and discriminatory.
>
>Â
>
>Despite better understanding of the capacity of 
>people with disabilities such as those expressed 
>in 
><https://mn.gov/dhs/partners-and-providers/news-initiatives-reports-workgroups/long-term-services-and-supports/employment-first/employment-first-policy.jsp>Minnesota's 
>Employment First Policy, more than 50 of the 
>approximately 800 
><https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/workers-with-disabilities/section-14c/certificate-holders>14(c) 
>entities in the US operate in Minnesota; 
>nationwide, Minnesota ranks among the highest 
>for numbers of people with disabilities making below the minimum wage.
>
>Â
>
>More than a dozen states have already phased out 
>the payment of subminimum wages through 
>successful implementation of models providing 
>competitive, community-integrated employment 
>while retaining other critical services. To 
>learn from the experiences of other states that 
>have transitioned away from subminimum wage, the 
>Minnesota Disability Law Center 
><https://mylegalaid.org/news/article/minnesota-disability-law-center-presents-a-new-report-ending-the-subminimum-wage-in-minnesota>studied 
>five states: Oregon, Maine, Rhode Island, 
>Vermont, and Maryland. The data show that, with 
>resources and careful planning, the transitions 
>have been overwhelmingly successful. Claims that 
>people with severe disabilities will be left 
>without a place to go and without opportunities are also shown to be unfounded.
>
>Â
>
>In 2023, the Minnesota legislature took 
>meaningful steps toward addressing the issue by 
>establishing grants, additional reporting 
>requirements, and a technical assistance center 
>to help employers transition away from the 
>subminimum wage model and pay people a fair wage 
>for the work they do while retaining other 
>needed services. This year, our state should 
>affirmatively end the discriminatory practice by 
>setting a date certain, no later than 2028, 
>after which the use of 14(c) certificates in Minnesota will be prohibited.
>
>Â
>
>GOAL—Put an end to the use of subminimum wage 
>certificates in Minneesota, so that all workers 
>will be paid at or above the minimum wage.
>
>Â
>
>
>Additional priorities may offer opportunity for 
>legislative action during this session.
>
>
>
>Â
>
>
>About the NFB of Minnesota
>
>
>
>This information is provided by the members of 
>the 
><http://www.nfbmn.org/about/resolutions>National 
>Federation of the Blind of Minnesota (NFBMN), 
>the state’s oldest, largest, and most active 
>membership organization of blind and interested 
>sighted people, who have worked together since 
>1920 to formulate much-needed social change. 
>With chapters throughout the state, we deliver a 
>message of hope and encouragement that blindness 
>need not hold us back. We promote policies that 
>will bring blind people of all ages into full 
>participation in our communities.
>
>Â
>
>
>Contact Us
>
>
>
>For further information on these legislative 
>priorities, or should questions arise on any 
>matters affecting blind people anywhere in 
>Minnesota, contact Corbb O'Connor, President, 
>National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota, 
>at (612) 872-9363 or <mailto:president at nfbmn.org>president at nfbmn.org.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/mn-at-large_nfbnet.org/attachments/20240221/d735dad3/attachment.html>