Bringing Light to the Darkest Intersection of Disability and Work

Have you ever considered what your life might be like if — for some reason — you became permanently unable to maintain a job that would allow you to support yourself? What if you had been born with an intellectual or physical disability that made working seemingly impossible? Where do these potential disabled workers fit? The short answer is that they don’t — they are systematically disenfranchised. 

In part one of this series, we covered how disability is defined and the maze of governmental oversight; part two addressed the challenges of legal compliance and discrimination; and in part three, we took a look at how Evinco is committed to raising the standard. In the final part of this series, we’re talking about how you can help advocate for disability justice.

But first, there is one final grouping of disabled workers we should talk about — the ones who would like to work in a meaningful way and are undermined in the process. This may be one of the most heartbreaking corners of the disabled experience — because it mandates poverty.   

Many years ago, I spent about a year working for a non-profit organization whose stated mission was to provide opportunities for the developmentally and intellectually disabled. This included housing, supportive services, and employment. The employment aspect was very important to them, and not because of their values, but because of the income it generated. The organization ran workshops where enrolled clients created items for retail sale such as beaded necklaces. They also offered jobs in food, janitorial, and landscaping services. For the clients that had these jobs, it was good, life-affirming work that yielded a small paycheck. Emphasis on small. 

The pay wasn’t small because of the number of hours worked but because of the method by which wages were calculated. Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 allows for a subminimum wage to be paid to workers with certain types of disabilities. 

If you think that means that workers who fall into this category are paid less than minimum wage, you’re correct. 

If you also caught that this law has been in place for 86 years, you get double points. 

Here’s the racket: a person with normative ability completes a task and is timed; the individual with the disability then completes the same task and is timed. The difference in the time it takes is then calculated to a percentage that reduces the wage by that amount. So let’s say it takes a minute to wipe down a table for the normative individual and it takes 3 for the disabled individual, that person is then determined to be working at 30% capacity and so receives 30% of the wage offered — almost always minimum wage. So someone can be working full time, putting in just as much (and often more) effort into their work and they would have a paycheck that is 60% less than their coworker performing the same tasks. 

Here is where it gets insidious: the organization that facilitates the disabled worker is the one that actually employs them. And that organization is contracted and compensated by the employer to provide the service at a significantly higher rate than what the worker receives, but much less than it would cost them to employ a traditional worker. The organization pockets the difference, sometimes in the millions of dollars. The situation is so bad that in 2020 the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights issued a report recommending that practice be stopped. 

Discovering the existence of several of these types of lucrative contracts made on the backs of a vulnerable and disabled population prompted me to quit — to the bewilderment of the “non-profit” I was working for. 

This practice also upholds the problematic way in which disability benefits are distributed. For individuals receiving benefits who have never held a formal job — typically those with developmental or intellectual disabilities — the benefit amount is only about $900. Individuals who are eligible for full worker disability benefits currently receive approximately $1500 a month, before the deduction for Medicare. Additionally, they are not permitted to have assets valued above $2000 and are limited to $1,550 in earned income. If either of these provisions are not met, the benefits (and most ancillary services) are terminated. Fits in pretty cleanly with the subminimum wage, right?

So, what can you do?

Petition your representatives to:

• End the subminimum wage

• Raise the caps on earned income to a living wage

• Remove or raise the asset limits

• Increase the benefit amounts for Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance beneficiaries

• Fully fund the Equal Employment, Opportunity Commission

• Simplify the process for filing disability discrimination complaints

• Drastically stiffen the penalties for employers who violate discrimination laws

• Require and fund broader workplace accommodations

• Reduce the number of agencies involved in discrimination oversight

Additionally, you can:

• Become more informed about the issues that impact disability justice

• Follow advocacy thought leaders like Imani Barbarin 

• Ask your company about their values as it relates to disabled employees — and raise the expectation

• Check your privilege and bias around ability and perceived disability

• Advocate for stronger protections and support for the disabled community in meaningful ways

• Remember that only time and luck separate you and becoming disabled

The good news is current advocacy is working! For example, the work being done at the state level to ban the use of the subminimum wage is resulting in tangible results: 14 states have now banned the practice, the most recent being California. In 2021, the passage of SB 639 phased out the use of the subminimum wage, and by next year no worker in the state can legally be compensated for less than the state minimum wage — currently $16 per hour. This is a sea change from the days where I once processed a payroll check for someone earning $1.27 an hour. Knowing that non-profit will never again be able to exploit a vulnerable worker with a disability because the system that allowed it has been dismantled brings me so much joy. Let’s do this!

Missed the other parts of the series? Check the links below!

Read Part 1, on the challenges and nuances of disability in the workplace.

Read Part 2, on reasonable accommodations.

Read Part 3, on centering employee wellness and rest.