Disabled Workers Deserve More Than Subminimum Wage

Ideas
By Keely Cat-Wells
November 1, 2024 12:00 PM EDT
Keely Cat-Wells is an entrepreneur and disability rights advocate. She is the CEO and co-founder of Making Space.

When I became Disabled in my late teens and started searching for work, I was confronted with barriers including disability discrimination, inaccessible environments, and attitudinal biases. I lost a job simply because a no-cost adaptation was rejected. My story isn’t unique. And it’s just one example of how systemic barriers prevent Disabled people from accessing meaningful employment.

Another huge one: a nearly 90-year-old federal law from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that allows employers to pay Disabled people less than the minimum wage, sometimes just cents on the dollar. At last, Congress is seriously considering legislation that would end this relic of the New Deal, better known as Section 14(c), which confines Disabled people to a lifetime of poverty and segregation. 

President Biden campaigned to end this discriminatory federal program, which is run by the U.S. Department of Labor, and disability rights advocates have been working with bipartisan Congressional champions like Democratic Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Representative Bobby Scott of Virginia, and Republican Senator Steve Daines of Montana and Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, to get the Transition to Competitive Integrated Employment Act (TCIEA) across the finish line as the 118th Congress wraps up after the election. Republican leaders including Neil Romano are championing the reforms.

When President Roosevelt signed the FLSA of 1938, this was a landmark law that established minimum wage, overtime pay, and child labor protections, but it initially excluded several groups of workers. When it was first passed, agricultural workers, domestic workers, and others, many from marginalized communities, including Black and immigrant workers, were not covered by its protections. This was largely due to political compromises to gain support from Southern Democrats, who wanted to maintain the status quo of labor practices that benefited from the exploitation of these workers.

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Over time, the FLSA was amended to include some of these previously excluded groups. In 1966, agricultural and restaurant workers gained coverage under the Act, and in 1974, domestic workers were included. But in 2024, Disabled workers are still legally allowed to be paid less than the minimum wage based on their productivity. While efforts to phase out this exclusion have grown in recent years, Disabled workers remain the only group still legally subject to subminimum wages under federal law.

States like Alaska, Maryland, New Hampshire, and Vermont have already abolished Section 14(c), proving that a fair and equitable labor market for Disabled workers is possible. Additionally, red states like Utah have taken significant steps toward ending Section 14(c). It's time to take this reform to the federal level. 

The intent of Section 14(c) was to allow employers, particularly sheltered workshops, to pay Disabled workers based on their productivity compared to non-disabled workers. The idea was that by offering subminimum wages, employers would be incentivized to hire Disabled workers who might otherwise be excluded from the workforce. However, it has become a convenient loophole for employers to secure cheap labor while exploiting Disabled workers without facing any consequences. By allowing these practices to continue, we are enabling the exploitation of an already marginalized group, further entrenching them in poverty rather than providing opportunities for growth and independence.

The notion that pay should be tied to productivity is fundamentally flawed, especially when we consider that non-Disabled workers are rarely, if ever, paid based solely on their productivity. In most industries, non-Disabled employees are compensated at a standard rate, regardless of their individual output, and factors like seniority, education, or company role often play a much larger role in determining pay. If all workers, regardless of disability, were paid strictly on productivity alone, it would expose the absurdity of this metric as a fair gauge of value. Productivity fluctuates based on numerous factors such as workplace environment, job accommodations, and access to resources—factors that disproportionately affect Disabled people due to the systemic barriers they face.

Section 14(c) only masks a much bigger problem: the broken and inaccessible systems that limit opportunities for Disabled people.

Read More: Why Businesses Must Stop Disregarding People With Disabilities

We need to reform systems that confine Disabled people to decade-long state waitlists to receive necessary home and community based services, that limit upward mobility to move states and change careers, and that restrict our community to asset and income limitations that equate to a lifetime of poverty. This isn’t the American Dream—a disincentive to work, choosing between gainful employment and essential support, perpetuating poverty and making it nearly impossible to accumulate savings or financial stability.

Many Disabled people are forced to create their own businesses because traditional employment is inaccessible—that’s what I did, frustrated by my own struggles and the lack of disability representation. Whether it’s inaccessible workplaces, subminimum wages, or societal biases, the barriers Disabled people face in employment are countless. We are often forced into entrepreneurship, and yet Disabled entrepreneurs are 400 times less likely to receive venture capital than their non-disabled peers.

This is ironic given the labor shortage and the demand for creative, adaptable workers, qualities Disabled people inherently possess from navigating a world not designed for us. Despite this, Disabled people are twice as likely to be unemployed in the U.S., and those with intersectional identities face even higher rates. 

Perhaps the most significant barrier is societal attitudes, negative perceptions and assumptions about Disabled people’s capabilities. Many employers still hold the bias that Disabled people are less capable, less productive, or require too many accommodations to be worth hiring. According to the Center for Talent Innovation, 62% of employees with disabilities have “invisible disabilities,” and many don’t disclose them due to fear of discrimination. 

Addressing these barriers requires policy changes and a fundamental shift in the way we view disability in the workplace. We need to recognize that Disabled people bring valuable skills and perspectives, and that with the right access, they can succeed just as well, if not better, than their non-disabled counterparts, and that we all, if we are lucky enough to live long lives, will become disabled at some point. Disability is a natural part of human diversity. 

As we reflect on the myriad of challenges our community faces and how we hold our elected leaders accountable, we must start by abolishing subminimum wage. Then we can work to advance proactive federal solutions that will create accessible, inclusive pathways to employment and entrepreneurship. 

Having had to carve out my own path when traditional employment shut its doors, I am committed to ensuring that no other Disabled person is ever forced to do the same. But if they choose to, they should have the funding, support, and access needed to succeed on their own terms.