Imagine working in a factory where you put stickers on boxes for eight hours a day. Imagine getting paid $3 per hour for that work. More than 1,000 South Carolinians live this experience.
And it’s legal. But not for much longer.
Gov. Henry McMaster signed a bill in May to phase out the practice of subminimum wage, a law that allows employers to pay people with disabilities less than the state’s minimum wage. The law was passed in 1938 but will end in 2024.
The move to end subminimum wages comes after years of lobbying from groups around the state to do even more to stop sticking people with disabilities into dead-end jobs and to start training them with skills they can apply to attainable careers.
In July 2022, 1,300 employees in South Carolina and 38,000 employees nationwide were making subminimum wage, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Labor.
The crux of the problem is that there’s a less than 5% chance that people will transition out of these unskilled jobs into meaningful careers, according to Able SC, a disability-led organization that serves workers with disabilities.
Working for less than minimum wage makes you feel unvalued, according to Angela Greene, 49, who spent 20 years making $3.50 an hour as a contract janitor working in office buildings and hotels.
She felt like she “fell through the cracks” as a person with a disability trying to get a job and credits God for getting her into a higher-paying job. She’s now working as a dining room...
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