The Transitioning to Integrated and Meaningful Employment (TIME) Act, would phase out Section 14 (c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which allows employers to pay workers with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage. This would also force vocational rehabilitation agencies across the country to find meaningful placements for people with disabilities in which their abilities could be maximized and in which they could be successful and valued. The following Congressional Representatives from New York have signed on so far: Rep. Louise Slaughter, Rep. Nita Lowey, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Rep. Peter King and Rep. Kathleen Rice. Let's get the rest of the New York delegation signed on as well!
Current Federal law allows the Secretary of Labor to grant special wage certificates to entities that provide employment to workers with disabilities, allowing such entities to pay their disabled workers at rates that are lower than the Federal minimum wage. The practice of paying workers with disabilities less than the Federal minimum wage dates back to the 1930s, when there were virtually no employment opportunities for workers with disabilities in the mainstream workforce. Today, advancements in vocational rehabilitation, technology, and training provide workers with disabilities with greater opportunities than in the past, and the number of such workers in the national workforce has dramatically increased. In the 75 years since this became law, studies have shown that fewer than 5% of over 400,000 workers with disabilities ever transition out of segregated, subminimum-wage, sheltered workshop settings to integrated, competitive employment. This outdated model does not provide workers with disabilities with useful, marketable skills to obtain competitive, integrated employment in their communities.
Action: Urge Representative Richard Hanna (1-202-225-3665to support the Transitioning to Integrated and Meaningful Employment (TIME) Act.
