Feature Issue on Employment and IDD

Clear-language summary

In many states, it is still legal to pay people with disabilities less than minimum wage. There are more than 38,000 people across the United States who are paid less than minimum wage.

In Minnesota, advocates and self-advocates are asking legislators to end this practice. In 2020, state lawmakers codified Minnesota’s Employment First Policy into law, which says that employment is the first service option to be considered.

The shift to competitive, integrated employment and fair pay benefits everyone. It creates new workers to address labor shortages and provides people with IDD a way out of poverty through working in jobs they enjoy. People with and without disabilities will benefit as they make new connections and develop new friendships. Advocates in Minnesota will be going back to the legislature in 2025 to ask that the practice of paying anyone a sub-minimum wage be phased out.

As the debate continues about what constitutes a livable wage, be aware that there is a group of workers earning far less than even minimum wage.

Section 14c of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 makes it legal for employers to pay workers with disabilities less than minimum wage. Created to boost employment for people with disabilities, today it keeps many in poverty, without opportunities for advancement. It is time to phase out the use of the 14c Special Wage certificate. We don’t need this relic of the past.

The Minnesota State House of Representatives and Senate on the floor to discuss the end of subminimum wage.

In the United States, approximately 38,000 workers with disabilities are paid under this certificate, according to the U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division. Minnesota has the dubious distinction of having the second-highest rate per capita of people with disabilities earning subminimum wages, about 3,100 workers. Other states with high rates of people with disabilities earning subminimum wages include Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.

In 2013, our state created the Minnesota Olmstead Plan, named for the 1999 landmark Supreme Court ruling that found “unjustified segregation of people with disabilities is a form of unlawful discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act.” The plan outlines a vision for Minnesota as a place where people with disabilities live, work, learn, and enjoy life in the most integrated setting possible. In 2020, the state legislature codified Minnesota’s Employment First Policy into law, emphasizing employment as the first service option. Competitive, integrated employment means full-time, part-time, or self-employment with and without supports, in the competitive labor force, on the payroll of a competitive business, and earning at least the minimum wage, but not less than the customary wage and level of benefits paid by the employer for the same or similar work performed by works without a disability. It’s time to live up to it.

In January, Minnesota’s Olmstead Implementation Office released an update on our state’s employment goals for people with disabilities. Unfortunately, we are not meeting our goals of people with disabilities getting competitive, integrated jobs through Vocational Rehabilitation Services and State Services for the Blind or those who receive services from some Medicaid funded programs.

Disability rights advocates lobbying at the Minnesota State Capitol to end subminimum wage.

For nearly a decade, I worked for a service provider and managed a team of direct support professionals (DSPs). In 2017, we let go of the 14c Special Wage certificate to focus solely on community employment at or above minimum wage. There was anxiety during this transition, from people receiving services, their parents and guardians, and from other members of their support teams. We approached our business partners and were able to re-negotiate our contracts and bring people’s wages up to the minimum. Some of the employers we had contracts with were not aware that some individuals doing the work were paid below minimum wage. The response from our business partners was overwhelmingly positive, with some choosing to hire folks directly. One business decided to end their contract with us, and my team used a person-centered, customized approach to find every one of those workers competitive jobs in their community. Change is scary and the transition took time and planning, but the sky did not fall. No one lost services or found themselves sitting at home, and our doors did not shut.

For the last year I have worked at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration on a project called the MN Transformation Initiative, or MTI. MTI is a project funded by the Minnesota Department of Human Services to support the transition of people with disabilities receiving subminimum wages into competitive, integrated employment. Through individualized technical assistance to provider agencies, statewide training opportunities, and peer mentoring and education for self-advocates and families, MTI is part of a statewide effort to support more people with disabilities to find competitive jobs in their communities. MTI has worked with eight providers across the state to develop and implement individualized transition plans to drop their 14c certificates. Again, there have been challenges throughout the transition for the providers and for the people they serve, but more people are working in competitive paying jobs in the community than before. Providers have shared their stories about the challenges and successes they’ve had throughout their transitions, and there are more people with disabilities earning minimum wage. The MTI project demonstrates that when the right supports and technical assistance are available, providers can successfully make the transition to providing community employment to individuals they serve with no one losing services.

Minnesota benefits in several ways by making sure people with disabilities have opportunities to find competitive jobs in the community. Competitive employment is one way out of poverty, and it expands people’s skills, which creates new workers who can fill jobs as labor shortages continue. Working together in the community benefits individuals. Work provides people with and without disabilities more opportunities to expand their social networks. When I think about the friends I’ve made at work over the years, I realize I probably never would have met them elsewhere. Having a job that you enjoy and are good at benefits your mental health.

Advances in assistive technology and training are helping people with disabilities find and keep jobs in the community they enjoy. Phasing out 14c Special Wage certificates alone won’t remove all the barriers to employment for people with disabilities. According to a 2023 labor force report (https://bit.ly/4e0L4Ln) by Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development, there is a large gap in employment rates for people with and without disabilities. And even entry-level jobs paying minimum wage – as advocates have pointed out – don’t truly provide a living wage, but it’s a start.

Legislation will again be introduced in St. Paul for the 2025 session that will phase out 14c Special Wage certificates in Minnesota by 2028. This legislation is supported by a broad coalition of self-advocates, parents and family members, service providers, cities and counties, state agencies, and many others. While we let our elected officials know these certificates are outdated and harmful, and that better options exist for people with disabilities to live full lives in the community, we urge advocates in other states to do the same.