Washington, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Office of Management and Budget released a notice for proposed rulemaking eliminating Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which allows disabled people to be paid subminimum wages. In response, Mia Ives-Rublee, senior director of the Disability Justice Initiative at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
“More than 40,000 disabled people currently work in positions that fall under 14(c), meaning they receive an average pay of $3.50 per hour, with almost 12 percent of workers making less than a dollar. Eliminating 14(c) is one of the first steps to reducing poverty within the disability community and stopping the exploitation of disabled people. It’s past time the United States gets rid of draconian policies that dehumanize disabled people. Disabled people deserve equitable wages.”
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Jasmine Razeghi at [email protected]