Sub-Minimum Wage and IDD

By Alex Li

The subminimum wage in the US for the developmentally disabled (DD) people was significantly lower than those who are not disabled. What’s worse, this action was originally encouraged by the government, who establish, then lower the subminimum wage for DD people until the wage floor does not exist anymore.

Developmentally disabled people typically earn significantly less than those without a disability. Many of the developmentally disabled people earn below $3.5/hr, a number significantly below the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hr, while many more are left unemployed (Phillips). To deal with the unemployment problem, the US government launched a program that employed the workers with simple jobs, such as bagging newspapers and wrapping silverware (Selyukh). To the US government, whether the DD workers can get more wages is determined by their ability to work, rather than by law.

The issue with the program is that it hides the fact that the US government is using individuals with developmental disabilities as cheap labor. The first reason is by its wages. Since 1938, the program discussed above was already in act, paying workers with an average wage of $3.34/hr (Selyukh). In 2024, the hourly wage increased to $3.50/hr (Fernandes and Locke). However, the purchase power of a 1938-dollar is different from a 2024-dollar. According to calculation, a 1938-dollar has a similar purchase power to 21.3 2024-dollar, which means, the payment to people with developmental disabilities have to be approximately $71/hr to maintain the same purchase power. In conclusion, the purchase power of the wage given to the developmentally disabled decreased by 2300%. The second reason is the work itself being repetitive. If the government used machines to do the work, the cost of purchasing and maintaining machines would be expensive. In addition, hiring people who can use these machines would also be costly. If the US government employed disabled people, they can excuse underpaying by their ability to produce wealth, which is a classical exploitation method from the bourgeoisie.

The underpayment to the disabled people was not simply discrimination, but reflection of policy encouraged by the US government. In 1938, the US government passed the Fair Labor Standards Act, within its 14th clause, or 14(c), regulated the floor of subminimum wage to the DD people being 75% of the minimum wage (Phillips). However, the 14th clause has been modified later into 50%, and later revoked in the law. This gave the employers freedom to dictate how low do they want to pay their workers who have developmental disabilities. 

The ethics of the subminimum wage was under question. According to Cornell University, previous employment for developmentally disabled people were under segregated worksites named “sheltered workshops” or “work activity centers” (Jackson and Switzer). However, according to Cornell, the people who opposed eliminating the subminimum wage law were people that have one or more family members with a developmental disability. According to their mindset, if the companies must pay developmentally disabled people in the same standard as the normal people, the companies may not employ the individuals with developmental disabilities. The reason is that, the normal people, having no disability that make their work less effective, produced more profit for the company, with the same cause. These people were afraid that their family members or friends would be unemployed without subminimum wage.

The lack of subminimum wage meant that it is now the states’ responsibility to determine how much to be paid to developmentally disabled workers. Some state are striving to eliminate the subminimum wage, allowing the developmentally disabled workers to be paid under the same standard as other workers. For example, the Maryland State drafted the Ken Capone Equal Employment Act in 2016, aiming to eliminate the sub-minimum certificate founded by the 14(c) (Fernandes and Locke). Four years later, no 14(c) certificates were active. Although the national government cancelled the wage floor, many DD people are being paid with submiminum wage despite state policy differs. For example, in California, the subminimum wage was designed varying from municipality to municipality based on the different living price (Symonds). The subminimun wage for different occupations in California is different. For example, the subminimum wage for fast food workers is at least 20 USD/hr, and agricultural workers are paid 15 USD/hr for the first eight hour and 18 USD/hr for each hour after(Symonds). In addition, works focusing on administration and government commissioned work are paid by the minimum wage (Symonds).

Some states, such as Texas, focused less on the subminimum wage. In Texas, the last time the state government raised the subminimum wage is in 2009, from $6.55 to $7.25 (Symonds). Despite the state not raising its subminimum wage, some cities, such as Houston and Austin, attempted to pass bills to enforce a higher subminimum wage.

Despite the argument by the subminimum wage supporters, employing people with developmental disabilities can encourage neurodiversity in workplaces. The definition of “neurodiversity” in a company is that there are different approaches to brain processing information, thus how people see the world (Luc). A person who is “neurodiverse” is not identical as one who is “disabled”. The definition of “disability” is a major impairment that affected individual’s ability to live normally. On the other hand, a person who is “neurodiverse” meant that they process information different from the majority. The people who are classified as “neurodiverse” are usually those diagnosed with ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, and similar (Luc). These people technically do not always fit the category of “disabled." When applied, these neurodiverse people process information different from others, providing new perspectives. Neurodiversity also boost work efficiency, as an experiment found that groups with neurodiversity can be 30% faster than those without (Mahto et al.). There are currenlty 14 states that have completely removed sub-minimum wage, with hopefully more to join that list soon.

Sources:

Fernandes, Deepa, and Ashley Locke. “People with disabilities are paid less than minimum wage.” WBUR, 19 December 2023, https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2023/12/19/disabilities-minimum-wage. Accessed 28 May 2024.

Goldsmith, Tami, et al. “Nothing About Us Without Us: From Subminimum Wage to Meaningful Employment in Maryland.” Kennedy Krieger Institute, https://www.kennedykrieger.org/community/initiatives/maryland-center-developmental-disabilities/information-dissemination/posters/from-subminimum-wage-meaningful-employment. Accessed 30 May 2024.

Jackson, Kaitlyn, and Ellice Switzer. “Subminimum Wage for People with Disabilities | The ILR School.” The ILR School, 1 March 2024, https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/carow/carow-policy/subminimum-wage-people-disabilities. Accessed 30 May 2024.

Luc, Kelly. “Neurodiversity in the workplace: Why it matters.” Culture Amp, 1 February 2024, https://www.cultureamp.com/blog/neurodiversity-in-the-workplace. Accessed 5 June 2024.

Mahto, Monika, et al. “Neurodiversity in the workplace.” Deloitte, 18 January 2022, https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/talent/neurodiversity-in-the-workplace.html. Accessed 5 June 2024.

Phillips, Erica E. “Many CT working people with disabilities earn subminimum wages.” CT Mirror, 21 August 2023, https://ctmirror.org/2023/08/21/14c-certificate-subminimum-wage-workers-disabilities/. Accessed 28 May 2024.

Selyukh, Alina. “Workers With Disabilities Can Earn Just $3.34 An Hour. Agency Says Law Needs Change.” NPR, 17 September 2020, https://www.npr.org/2020/09/17/912840482/u-s-agency-urges-end-to-below-minimum-wage-for-workers-with-disabilities. Accessed 28 May 2024.

Symonds, Cat. “California Minimum Wage: Comprehensive Guide.” Factorial, 8 May 2024, https://factorialhr.com/blog/california-minimum-wage/. Accessed 1 June 2024.

Symonds, Cat. “Employer’s Guide to the Texas Minimum Wage.” Factorial, 3 May 2024, https://factorialhr.com/blog/texas-minimum-wage/. Accessed 1 June 2024.