WASHINGTON – Job agencies in San Diego fear that a congressional proposal requiring employers to pay disabled individuals minimum wage may result in job losses.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 individuals with disabilities may be employed at sub-minimum wage rates. In California, anyone who is hired directly by a company must be paid minimum wage. But many firms work with outside organizations, which can hire at a lower rate because of an exception in the law.
Washington lawmakers are pushing for a change.
Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., has proposed the Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act to phase out special certificates that allow sub-minimum wage rates for employees with individuals with disabilities. Approximately 75 percent of individuals with developmental disabilities are unemployed, according to statistics released by Partnerships With Industry, an organization that provides services professional training programs to disabled individuals.
For many of these individuals who want to work, support agencies provide job development programs and employment opportunities through contracts with outside companies. These agencies employ disabled individuals, not the contracted companies. Sub-minimum wage certificates provided at the federal level allow these agencies to pay lower wages.
“My bill provides five years for phasing out the federal minimum wage exemption for the disabled and I believe nearly all employers can find a way to meet the minimum wage,” Stearns said in an e-mail.
Skeptics argue the proposed change in the law will hurt disabled employees. This “will result in employers not hiring people with disabilities,” said Dan Clark, the director of community services at the San Diego Regional Center.
The center, a non-profit corporation that contracts with the California State Department of Developmental Services to provide programs for individuals with development disabilities, “would advocate for people to have jobs,” Clark said.
The center supports a majority of individuals in San Diego who have developmental disabilities, according to Stormy Miller, the center’s adult day program and habilitation coordinator.
“Of the population we serve, there are about 1,200 individuals who are employed and receiving support,” Miller said.
‘The reality is it isn’t there yet’
Stearns said that he does “[…] not expect this bill to reduce employment opportunities for the disabled.
“However, as the bill goes through the process I expect that an amendment providing an exemption for special work programs that provide exceptional services for the severely disabled would be considered,” Stearns added.
Should the proposed legislation become law, for-profit companies will see wage exemptions revoked in one year, and non-profit companies will see wage exemptions revoked in three years.
“To me to look at having the people with disabilities fully included in getting good wages is a wonderful thing and it’s a good vision. But I think the reality is it isn’t there yet,” Clark said.
“The practice of paying workers with disabilities less than the Federal minimum wage dates back to the 1930s, when there were virtually no employment opportunities for disabled workers in the mainstream workforce,” the bill states.
But to Clark, “There are just some hard realities. And so to me my concern with [the bill] is that if in fact it resulted in people losing jobs, and people from our employment agencies assure me that will be the case, that would be a real loss.”
The San Diego Regional Center refers its clients interested in seeking employment to a network of service providers.
Service providers then work with disabled individuals to provide professional development and training workshops, as well as work experience through contracted positions. In most cases, the support agencies employ the individuals, not the actual site where they are working. Hourly wage is determined based on productivity, according to Miller.
One of those providers is The Arc of San Diego, a private, not-for-profit corporation. The agency works to help individuals with disabilities find employment in a variety of positions and industries throughout the community.
Many of these individuals are paid based on a time standard, which determines the prevailing wage: how long it takes an individual without a disability to complete a task. A disabled individual is timed doing the same task. His or her hourly wage is based on how long it takes him or her to complete that task in proportion to an individual without a disability and based on a minimum wage hourly rate. Disabled individuals’ productivity averages approximately 12 percent of an employee without a disability, according to Partnerships With Industry.
SeaWorld hires disabled individuals
SeaWorld is one of the San Diego organizations that works with agencies to provide employment opportunities and experience for disabled individuals.
“We do work with some agencies as an outreach to provide working opportunities for disabled individuals,” said David Koontz, a SeaWorld spokesman. These experiences range in how long they last and the agencies are the employers in this case.
But SeaWorld does also have disabled employees who were directly hired. “They are paid by us at the rate of that position, just as any other employee would be paid,” Koontz said.
“If you’re an employer just looking at outcomes, you are going to hire the employee that’s going to get you the best outcome,” Clark commented. With this standard of wage determination “there’s not a disincentive to hire a person with disabilities, and there may be some incentives.”
Time standard studies are required to be revaluated, and must be reviewed by the department of labor. Employees have an opportunity for wage increases based on performance.
“If we would pay everybody minimum wage then anybody would able to do the job, and [disabled individuals] wouldn’t have a job,” said Salome White, office manager at The Arc of Imperial Valley.
The majority of disabled individuals find employment through a support agency rather than being directly hired, White said. And for the 212 consumers at The Arc of Imperial Valley, White said that their involvement with The Arc of Imperial Valley is a huge part of their life.
“In my opinion it is the social opportunities, and some of it is the pride of being out there doing something productive. And all of that can still happen with a subminimum wage that’s based on productivity,” Clark said.