Imago/Zuma
On July 7, the US Department of Labor formally withdrew its plan for a rule—introduced during the Biden administration—that would federally end the practice of subminimum wage for disabled people. Over the past decade, 16 states have ended subminimum wage for disabled people, with a few more phasing out this practice.
“It’s a cruel irony for disabled people that the Trump administration announced they are rolling back this rule almost the same day as Congress voted for the [One Big Beautiful Bill] Act,” said Mia Ives-Rublee, the senior director for the Disability Justice Initiative at the Center for American Progress. “Now, not only will disabled people’s health care be ripped away, [but] many will have fewer opportunities to earn a fair wage.”
“It’s discouraging to see people being treated like they are 5 years old at a sheltered workshop,” said David Pinno.
Subminimum wage for disabled people was created as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, when the minimum wage was established for other workers. While, at the time, these jobs were more commonly held by Blind people and veterans, it has since shifted to being more common among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. For decades, companies have been able to apply for 14(c) certificates, which allow them to pay disabled people less than minimum wage. As of July, there are over 600 sheltered workshops across the United States with 14(c) certificates, and they each employ from a handful to over 300 people.
“The Department takes seriously the concerns expressed by Members of Congress and others that it lacks statutory authority,” part of the reasoning for the withdrawal reads. “The fact that some States ended their state-law subminimum wage provisions does not necessarily mean such provisions are no longer needed to prevent curtailment of employment opportunities.”
An argument in favor of subminimum wage has long been that it incentivizes employers to hire disabled people who simply would not find employment elsewhere. However, a study from last year disputed this fact, finding employment for disabled people either increased or stayed the same in two states that have retired subminimum wage. Disability advocates who have pushed to end the subminimum wage for disabled people have argued that making a living wage off of as little as 25 cents an hour was impossible. The federal minimum wage today is $7.25 an hour—which is not a living wage either.
David Pinno, who now works at McDonald’s and makes $14 an hour, was employed at a sheltered workshop from 2003 to 2011 in Manawa, Wisconsin. He sometimes made just $48 a week for stapling, labeling, and packaging products.
“If anyone realizes how bad I was treated at a sheltered workshop claiming to be Christian and agrees sheltered workshops should continue, [they] obviously never worked at one,” Pinno said. “It’s discouraging to see people being treated like they are 5 years old at a sheltered workshop.”
When Pinno was in his early 30s, he successfully moved out of subminimum wage work when he was hired by McDonald’s—where he still works a decade later—to be a crew member. Nonetheless, there are still 39 workshops in Wisconsin with over 2,000 disabled employees who are being paid less than minimum wage.
Carrie Varner, who is autistic, worked at a sheltered workshop for nearly 2 years between 2007 and 2009. The work, including cutting up buttons, was so menial that she “got really horribly depressed when I was there, and to the point where I became suicidal.”
But then she moved into a job in state government for North Dakota, and has been able to become more independent when she was paid a living wage.
“I was making really good money, and that’s how I was able to move…into my own home,” Varner said. “Most people who are in subminimum wage, they’re never going to get anything like that.”
While the federal government’s recent decision comes as a disappointment for many disability advocates, on the state level, the push to end subminimum wage continues. On May 1, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill that will phase out the payment of subminimum wage to disabled workers by 2027, saying, “Everyone deserves the chance to work and thrive.”