OPINION AND COMMENTARY
Editorials and other Opinion content offer perspectives on issues important to our community and are independent from the work of our newsroom reporters.
A California law meant to lift disabled workers could end up hurting them.
The premise of Senate Bill 639, which by 2025 will phase out so-called sheltered workshops, is noble: All people have a right to minimum wage and must not be exploited.
It’s a worthwhile aim in theory. But it’s a lot more complicated in practice.
That was evident in a visit to Howard Prep, Modesto’s premier nonprofit employer of the disabled for more than 60 years, formerly known as the Howard Training Center. Its kitchen and warehouse hum with happy, busy, productive workers making subminimum wages.
Bustling between huge sinks and drying racks was DJ Yarbrough. He started 18 years ago, when California’s minimum wage was $6.75 an hour, and he was paid $2. No one — not his parents, not his employer, not even DJ — considered that disrespectful. Everyone saw him walk a little taller. He had gained purpose, friends and a paycheck.
DJ, 40, has Fragile X syndrome, which causes intellectual disability. He is kind and has a great memory, while he’s not good with stress, public transportation or money. He would rather have five $1 bills than two $20 bills, for example.
But boy, can he wash dishes.
The 4,000-square-foot commercial kitchen at Howard Prep provides a sense of self-worth more than income. The sheltered workshop is a big,...
A post claiming to list all the actions taken by the Home Minister in Kashmir in the last 10 days is going viral on social media. The posts list out 18 points, which include claims regarding citiz...