[NFBNJ] American Nightmare: How workers with disabilities are denied economic prosperity

[joe ruffalo]

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Received from John Pare, Executive Director of Advocacy and Policy, NFB.
The following was forwarded to the affiliate presidents distribution list.
Please read and share.

Joe

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**

Below is an article by President Riccobono that appeared in The Hill last 
Friday.

American Nightmare: How workers with disabilities are denied economic 
prosperity
By Mark A. Riccobono
The Hill - 11/30/2018

"Workers paid only a few dollars per hour." "Disabled workers exploited for 
profit." "Employers pay next to nothing for manual labor." If you read these 
headlines at the top of your newspaper, would you think you were reading 
about sweatshops in some distant developing country? If someone were to tell 
you that every day hundreds of thousands of workers with disabilities are 
paid less, typically far less, than the minimum wage in cities like Boston, 
Los Angeles, Cleveland, or Salt Lake City, would you believe them? Would the 
thought ever cross your mind that this could happen right here in the United 
States?

The stark reality is that everything you just read is true. People with 
disabilities are paid subminimum wages and it's completely legal for 
companies to do 
so<https://www.vox.com/2018/5/3/17307098/workers-disabilities-minimum-wage-waiver-rock-river-valley-self-help>.

The Fair Labor Standards Act, passed in 1938, was a landmark law enacted 
with the specific intention of protecting the rights of American workers. It 
established such modern norms as a 40-hour workweek, overtime pay, 
restrictions against child labor, and the federal minimum wage. However, it 
also introduced an exception to that minimum wage with the inclusion of 
Section 14(c), which allows employers to obtain a special wage certificate 
granting the permission to pay people with disabilities at a rate "lower 
than the minimum wage." There it is in black and white, discrimination 
codified into United States law.

According to the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, 321,131 
Americans with disabilities are currently employed under 14(c) certificates. 
That is more than 300,000 people who are legally able to be paid less than 
the minimum wage by employers like major restaurant and hotel chains, 
consignment stores and school districts. Even more disturbing is that the 
vast majority of these organizations are nonprofits, which receive set aside 
government contracts for hiring workers with disabilities while paying those 
same workers subminimum wages. This is perhaps the most insidious and cruel 
form of "double-dipping."

Many argue that giving disabled Americans something to do, even if it means 
paying us next to nothing, is better than us doing nothing. They will argue 
that earning a paycheck, even if a week's check amounts to just a few 
dollars, provides a sense of dignity for disabled Americans. They argue that 
providing some place for disabled Americans to go, even if it is a workshop 
where we perform repetitive and mind-numbing labor, is better than sitting 
at home. They argue that all of these things foster feelings of pride and 
independence in disabled Americans. This misguided notion of charity is 
actually pity, and is insulting to disabled workers, because it presumes we 
do not know and can't understand the value of money. I'm not convinced that 
anyone can feel proud and independent when their paycheck for a week of work 
is not enough to afford a value meal at a fast food restaurant. Are you?

To put it bluntly, Americans with disabilities do not want your pity. We 
want your respect. We want you to respect us enough to extend the 
opportunity to work in a meaningful job, to work side-by-side with you 
toward a common goal, and most importantly to earn a living wage so that we 
can be independent.

The American Dream is generally understood as the opportunity for anyone, 
regardless of background, to achieve success and prosperity through hard 
work and determination. Section 14(c) creates a second class of citizens, 
based solely on disability, that are unable to experience the benefits of 
that dream. Americans with disabilities are determined, we are willing, and 
we are most definitely able to work hard, but regardless of how hard we 
work, success and prosperity will always be well out of reach as long as 
Section 14(c) is on the books. Our nation's commitment to end discrimination 
against people with disabilities must include ending the payment of 
subminimum wages, otherwise it is nothing more than a hollow platitude.

https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/civil-rights/419107-american-nightmare-how-workers-with-disabilities-are-denied


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