Amid an ongoing push to end a decades-old practice allowing workers with disabilities to be paid less than minimum wage, a new federal investigation finds that such employment has dropped by more than half.
Between 2010 and 2019, the number of people with disabilities nationwide earning what’s known as subminimum wage fell from 296,000 to 122,000, according to a report out this month from the Government Accountability Office.
At the same time, employer participation in the program declined from 3,117 to 1,567, the report found. And, that number continues to decrease, with fewer than 1,300 employers authorized as of August 2021.
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Under a law dating back to the 1930s, employers can obtain special 14(c) certificates from the U.S. Department of Labor authorizing them to hire people with disabilities at less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
But momentum in recent years has shifted toward competitive integrated employment and away from subminimum wage with changes to federal law and an increasing number of cities and states banning the practice.
Notably, Congress enacted strict limits on subminimum wage employment in 2014 with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Under that law, individuals with disabilities age 24 or younger cannot work for subminimum wage without first showing that they have received transition services, pursued employment through vocational rehabilitation and that they have been provided...
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