[nabs-l] The Subminimum Wage Issue

[Michael Forzano]

Hi All,

I've been hearing a lot about the subminimum wage issue that the NFB
is involved in, and the NFB's position honestly doesn't make sense to
me.

My understanding is that the people being paid subminimum wages have
disabilities in addition to blindness that prevent them from doing the
job as productively as someone being paid minimum wage, such as
cerebral palsy. If subminimum wages are eliminated, it seems pretty
clear to me that the employers would lay off the people in question.
After all, if you suddenly have to pay an employee hundreds of times
more than you were paying them for the same amount of
work/productivity, I don't think you'd have much choice.

People being paid suvminimum wage are likely in that situation because
they have no other choice, that is, their disabilities prevent them
from working even a minimum wage job. If the NFB succeeds, these
people will likely have no job at all and be forced to spend their
lives sitting at home on SSI. How is that helping them? at least right
now, they have a job, something to keep them busy.

I'm curious to see how the NFB is arguing against this because it
seems pretty clear to me from a business perspective. As much as the
employers may want to continue to employ these people it just won't
make sense.

Mike