Supporting Coalition-Building to Phase Out 14c
Project Description:
The goal to achieve in this project is as follows: to see an advocacy coalition develop that is meaningfully engaged in organizing at the grassroots and state levels to advocate for needed regulatory, legislative, and policy changes to ensure the phased ending of 14c in Georgia. For decades, it has been legal for sheltered workshops and similar human service programs to pay people with disabilities less than minimum wages. In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was passed and specified standards for basic minimum wage rates and overtime pay. It also created a special exemption authorizing employers to pay wages significantly lower than the minimum wage to workers with disabilities. Progressive at the time, these wage provisions were originally created to encourage the employment of veterans with disabilities in a manufacturing-centered economy. Nowadays, paying significantly lower than the minimum wage to workers with disabilities is seen more and more as inequitable and challenging to civil rights. In 2020, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights urged that the subminimum wage exception be overturned, stating that the provision has trapped workers in "exploitative and discriminatory" job programs. Currently, in Georgia, there are close to 80 providers who either have or have applied for 14c waivers (U.S. Department of Labor, 2021). In Georgia, there could be as many as 650 people who receive subminimum wages (Pace Center, 2021).
We at IHDD plan to achieve the above stated goal by; 1) increasing the number of individuals who receive training on topics related to 14c and policymaking, 2) creating a coalition, and 3) empowering the coalition to strategize ways to eliminate 14c and shift focus on competitive integrated employment. We will do this by: 1) the creation and distribution of online material and webinars and 2) hosting and facilitating virtual and/or in-person meetings to support strategic planning activities.
Keyword(s):
Competitive Employment; Ending 14c; Ending Subminimum Wages
Core Function(s):
Developing & Disseminating Information, Continuing Education/Community Training
Area of Emphasis
Employment-Related Activities
Target Audience:
Students/Trainees (long or intermediate trainees), Community Trainees / Short term trainees, Professionals and Para-Professionals, Family Members/Caregivers, Adults with Disabilities, Legislators/Policy Makers, General Public
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
None
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
State
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
