[nfbmi-talk] advocaes cracking down on shelterred shops?

Fri Aug 15 13:27:17 UTC 2014

Some of you know I work in a national level project that provides technical assistance to state and local departments of education who are developing programming for youth in transition to adulthood.  I want to add to what Joe posted.  The folks we work with in Rhode Island's department of education have a decree against them from the office of civil rights.  It says that young people who entered subminimum wage employment during high school were not offered other alternatives after they left high school.  These are individuals who may not know they have other options unless someone tells them what is available.  So the transition folks in Rhode Island now have to put policies and procedures into place to show that people are at least told what their options are.  A similar judgment was made against Oregon.

Now, I am not hopeful that there will be much change in Michigan.  But, as the post from Joe showed, there is at least a national effort to find ways to hold people accountable. We should look at places like Peckham through the educational referral system, not just the rehab system.

Lydia 
----- Original Message -----
From: Fred Wurtzel via nfbmi-talk <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
To: 'joe harcz Comcast' <joeharcz at comcast.net>, 'NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List' <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 09:00:21 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] advocaes cracking down on shelterred shops?

Hi,

The likelihood of such a so-called crackdown is slim and none in Michigan.
MPAS is part of the corrupt money sucking federal rip-off taking place in
Michigan on a wholesale scale.

Warmest Regards,

Fred

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbmi-talk [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of joe
harcz Comcast via nfbmi-talk
Sent: Friday, August 15, 2014 8:10 AM
To: nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
Cc: BRIAN SABOURIN; Elmer Cerano MPAS; MARK CODY; MARK MCWILLIAMS MPAS
Subject: [nfbmi-talk] advocaes cracking down on shelterred shops?

Advocates Cracking Down On Sheltered Workshops

By

Michelle Diament

August 15, 2014 Text Size

A

A

Jeff Long was one of 21 men with intellectual disabilities discovered in
2009 toiling away at an Iowa turkey processing plant and living in
deplorable conditions

while earning just $65 per month from an employer with an expired subminimum
wage certificate. (Melanie Burford/Dallas Morning News/MCT)

Jeff Long was one of 21 men with intellectual disabilities discovered in
2009 toiling away at an Iowa turkey processing plant and living in
deplorable conditions

while earning just $65 per month from an employer with an expired subminimum
wage certificate. (Melanie Burford/Dallas Morning News/MCT)

A nationwide effort is underway to lodge federal complaints against
sheltered workshops that are not fully complying with the law.

The National Disability Rights Network - an umbrella group for the
federally-mandated protection and advocacy organizations in each state - is
asking its

members to aggressively review the practices of employers in their area that
pay people with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per

hour.

Under current law, employers can obtain special permission from the U.S.
Department of Labor to pay people with disabilities what's known as
subminimum

wage. However, businesses with special wage certificates must adhere to
strict procedures when doing so, regularly assessing each worker's
productivity

level, among other requirements.

"We have good reason to believe that in many cases things are not being done
correctly in those environments," said Amy Scherer, a staff attorney with
the

National Disability Rights Network, which

found

in a 2011 report that government oversight of employers paying subminimum
wage is limited.

Through an initiative launched late last month, the national group is urging
its members across the country to report suspected violations to the
Department

of Labor. Already, an employer was discovered with no records documenting
the payment of subminimum wage to its workers with disabilities.

Individuals can contact the protection and advocacy organization in their
state if they are aware of a potential violation, Scherer said. Her group is
hopeful

that a coordinated effort to file complaints this summer will spur the Labor
Department to act.

Officials with the federal agency said they welcome the effort.

"The agency has been pursuing strategies to strengthen compliance," a
Department of Labor spokeswoman said in a statement to Disability Scoop.
"These strategies

include using all available enforcement tools to remedy and deter future
violations; providing new compliance assistance materials and tools; and
hosting

new compliance conferences for employers, community rehabilitation programs,
advocates, workers and other interested parties."

Hundreds of thousands of people with developmental disabilities are believed
to work for less than minimum wage. But the practice has become contentious

in recent years as individuals increasingly live and work in the community
as opposed to segregated environments.

Just last month, President Barack Obama

signed

legislation limiting the ability of many young adults with disabilities to
work for less than minimum wage unless they first explore other employment
options.

Source:

http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2014/08/15/advocates-cracking-down/19588/
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