[Ohio-talk] Fwd: [TSE-Chat] equal pay

Sun Feb 2 16:34:44 UTC 2014

Take a look at this letter. It seems to state a lot of our views quite
well. I saw it on another list and wanted to pass it along.
Aleeha

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Becky Frankeberger <b.butterfly at comcast.net>
Date: Sat, 1 Feb 2014 13:53:18 -0800
Subject: [TSE-Chat] equal pay
To: TSE-Chat at yahoogroups.com

From: Anne Sommers [mailto:asommers at NCD.GOV]

Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2014 11:54 AM

To: NCD-NEWS-L at LIST.NCD.GOV <mailto:NCD-NEWS-L at LIST.NCD.GOV>

Subject: NCD Letter to the President and Labor Secretary Tom Perez on the
Impending Minimum Wage Executive Order

NCD Letter to the President and Labor Secretary Tom Perez on the Impending
Minimum Wage Executive Order

January 30, 2014

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20500

The Honorable Thomas Perez

Secretary of Labor

U.S. Department of Labor

200 Constitution Ave., NW

Washington, DC 20210

Dear Mr. President and Secretary Perez:

On behalf of the National Council on Disability (NCD), an independent
federal agency that advises Congress and the Administration regarding laws,
policies, practices, and procedures that affect people with disabilities, I
write in response to the 2014 State of the Union address and a subsequent
White House call with community advocates regarding the impending Executive
Order to raise the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors. NCD
applauds your commitment to reducing income inequality, and urges the
steadfast inclusion of Americans with disabilities in these efforts.

We were disheartened to learn through a White House call yesterday that the
Administration does not have the intention of crafting the planned Executive
Order in such a way as to apply the raised minimum wage to people with
disabilities who are currently employed by federal contractors who pay them
subminimum wages. Because the Executive Order will not raise the wages of
these individuals outright, as a result, the Executive Order will only have
a negligible, trickle-down effect on employees with disabilities employed by
contractors who pay them subminimum wages, as wages paid under this program
will simply be calculated in relation to the new minimum wage. This may mean
that a worker receiving pennies an hour today may receive a dime as a result
of the Executive Order. Surely we can do better than this.

As aptly stated in your address, Mr. President, "The best measure of
opportunity is access to a good job." Surely, a good job includes a fair
wage. Twenty-four years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA), a fair wage must be available to everyone who works, including
Americans with disabilities. However, that is far from reality for most
people with disabilities living in America today.

People with disabilities are three times more likely to live in poverty,
and only 18.7 percent of people with disabilities participate in the
workforce, compared with 68.3 percent of people without disabilities.  In
addition, sadly, for many people with disabilities who are counted as
participating in the workforce, even the current minimum wage eludes them
because of antiquated laws and regulations that permit compensation that at
times provides mere pennies an hour. Through an outdated, little-known
provision in the Fair Labor Standards Act known as the Section 14(c)
program, the federal government permits employers with Section 14(c)
certificates to pay people with disabilities less than the prevailing
minimum wage. This currently affects over a quarter of a million Americans
with disabilities - a glaring example of the income inequality that we
applaud your Administration for wanting to stamp out. For workers with
disabilities, equal rights, let alone a living wage, is still a dream
deferred.

NCD believes that the Section 14(c) program is a policy relic from the
1930s, when discrimination was inevitable because service systems were based
on a charity model, rather than empowerment and self-determination, and when
societal low expectations for people with disabilities colored policymaking.
NCD stands for the principle that no person with a disability should be
discriminated against in an employment setting by being paid less than the
minimum wage available to all other citizens.

In our 2012 report, Subminimum Wage and Supported Employment, NCD
recommended a gradual phase out of the 14(c) program and a concurrent shift
of investment into supported employment.  As America rightly works toward
increasing the minimum wage, we must assure that people with disabilities
have the opportunity to rise to the same heights as other Americans.

If the Administration agrees with this principle and wants to stamp out
income inequality for all Americans, including Americans with disabilities,
we urge you to reconsider what was shared on yesterday's White House
conference call and explicitly state in the Executive Order that the
increase in minimum wage for employees of federal contractors applies to all
employees of federal contractors, including the thousands of Americans with
disabilities who are currently being paid less than the minimum wage under
the Section 14(c) program. Additionally, we urge the Administration to
publicly state its support for congressional action to phase out and
eliminate the 14(c) program for all workers, just as it has publicly
supported an increase in the federal minimum wage for workers without
disabilities.

As affirmed in the State of the Union address, "if you cook our troops'
meals or wash their dishes, you should not have to live in poverty." We
agree. Unequivocally, this must apply to all Americans, including people
with disabilities. If executive action is appropriate to raise the wages of
Americans without disabilities, it should be appropriate to raise the wages
of those with disabilities.

NCD looks forward to working with the Administration to ensure that all
Americans, including people with disabilities, have the tools necessary to
lift themselves out of poverty, including a fair and equitable wage. If we
can be of service as you consider the language of your Executive Order or on
related issues, please do not hesitate to call on us.

Respectfully,

Jeff Rosen

Chairperson

###

A copy of this letter can be found online at:

http://www.ncd.gov/publications/2014/01302014/

Read NCD's 2012 report, Subminimum Wage and Supported Employment, at:

http://www.ncd.gov/publications/2012/August232012/

---------------

National Council on Disability

1331 F Street, NW, Suite 850

Washington, DC 20004

202-272-2004 Voice

202-272-2074 TTY

202-272-2022 Fax

Website:

http://www.ncd.gov

NCD's Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/NCDgov

Follow NCD on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/NatCounDis

Sign up for regular email updates at:

http://www.ncd.gov/subscribe

About the National Council on Disability (NCD): NCD is an independent
federal agency of 15 Presidentially-appointed Council Members and full-time
professional staff, who advise the President, Congress and other federal
agencies on disability policy, programs, and practices.

########################################################################

Becky Frankeberger

Butterfly Knitting

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360-426-8389

becky at butterflyknitting.com