Nova I.C. failed to renew certification, demonstrate workers received required training
RALEIGH, NC – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $38,891 in back wages for 55 adult employees with developmental disabilities after finding their Goldsboro non-profit employer had not renewed their federal certification to pay them subminimum wages but continued to do so.
Provisions in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act allow employers to pay a subminimum wage to workers with disabilities only if they also provide them with resources, such as career counseling and referrals and access to competitive integrated employment.
Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that Nova I.C. Inc. – a non-profit community center operator – allowed their certification to expire. In addition, the employer claimed to investigators that janitorial, cleaning, lawn services and clerical work that was performed by workers with disabilities was part of their education and rehabilitation program and not actual hours worked. Instead of paying them wages as required, the firm paid a bi-weekly allowance of $20 even though the same type of work was listed in their previous certificate as work.
The division also found the employer failed to maintain the pre-employment special minimum wage requirement for hiring workers under 24-years-old, and failed to provide records showing that all workers received specific career counseling, as the Fair Labor Standards Act requires....
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