Original reporting by Erica E. Phillips. Compiled by Madeline Papcun.
Almost a century ago, in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act established the right to a minimum wage and overtime pay for working Americans. But the act carved out one segment of the population from the wage standard: individuals with disabilities.
That section of the law, known as 14(c), is still in place today, though the state of Connecticut is moving away from contracting with employers who hold what are known as 14(c) certificates.
Here’s what to know about the minimum wage exemption for individuals with disabilities.
Specifically, this applies to workers “whose earning or productive capacity is impaired by age, physical or mental deficiency, or injury.”
Earlier versions of the law established a wage floor of 75% and later 50% of federal minimum wage. Today, there is no wage floor for individuals with disabilities working for employers who are 14(c) certificate holders.
Many earn less than $3.50 an hour.
The labor department’s certificate application includes “wage calculators,” where employers enter the amount of time it takes a “standard setter” to complete a given task and the amount of time it takes a worker with a disability to complete the same task.
Each person’s wage is set based on...
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