A proposal to help phase out a subminimum wage for workers with disabilities is included in Democrats’ $1.75 trillion tax and social spending framework, one example of an initiative supported by progressives that survived the paring back of worker-focused policy items.
The legislative package, which is still under negotiation, would provide federal grants to states to support employers as they reshape their businesses to stop paying a subminimum wage to workers with disabilities. Employers can legally pay workers less than the minimum wage if they hold a waiver under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The proposal wouldn’t require employers to exit such pay arrangements, however. States would receive the grants over a five-year period in exchange for ending the subminimum pay practice.
The bill would also provide grants to help workers subject to 14(c) waivers find jobs in what are known as competitive integrated employment settings, or those where they labor alongside workers who are paid the minimum wage or more.
The proposal made it through tense intra-party negotiations that scrapped other policies favored by progressives, such as paid family and medical leave, tuition-free community college, Medicare dental and vision benefits, and some tax measures. The draft of the spending bill isn’t final, as Democrats haggle over final items and when a vote might take place.
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