Don’t harm valid job programs

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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Local advocates for people with disabilities are concerned about a congressional bill that would bar employers from paying some disabled workers sub-minimum wages.

They worry the Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act, introduced last month by Florida Rep. Cliff Stearns, would result in far fewer job opportunities for workers with serious disabilities. That may not be lawmakers' intent, but it's a concern worth careful review.

Recent abuses, including a case in Iowa, clearly show that more should be done to prevent the exploitation of disabled workers.

But Congress shouldn't be too quick to pass legislation that could severely damage the many more job programs that provide real value - not only for clients with disabilities who would have difficulty competing in today's tough job market, but for society, as a whole.

For decades, federal law has allowed the U.S. Department of Labor to issue special wage certificates to entities that employ workers with diminished productivity due to physical or mental disability.

Federal rules require sub-minimum wage rates to be calibrated by the worker's productivity - so that they are paid proportionately for the work they do.

It's a law designed to open up more employment opportunities for workers with disabilities too profound for mainstream employment. Workers for whom rehabilitation services, training and support services just aren't enough.

Stearns argues that the exemption gives employers incentive to exploit workers with disabilities - to see them only as a source of cheap labor.

To know that's true, one need look no farther than the recent case of Henry's Turkey Service. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission figures the company, which brokered employment for dozens of cognitively disabled workers for decades, robbed Atalissa-based workers out of $1 million in wages over three years.

But for every outfit like Henry's Turkey Service, there are dozens more using federal wage exemptions as intended: To level the playing field for workers.

Locally, organizations such as Goodwill Industries, Options of Linn County, Systems Unlimited and others help clients find more than employment. They help them find purpose and dignity, sometimes at jobs that pay less than minimum wage.

More must be done to reign in bad actors who would exploit vulnerable workers. But doing away with sub-minimum wages entirely is too broad an approach.

Legislators are right to look at how they might better protect workers with disabilities. But in doing so, they mustn't harm the programs that help such workers feel the pride and accomplishment of work.

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