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Change could affect 8,000 in Minnesota's sheltered workshops by 2025.
Krystal Halford recalls feeling jubilant after landing a job at an assembly plant in Eagan that employs people with disabilities. But after opening her paycheck, Halford's excitement turned to dismay. For two weeks of work, Halford discovered that she had made just $100 — amounting to less than $4 an hour. "It sent a message that I wasn't valued, that I didn't deserve what others have because I happen to be different," said Halford, 32, who has Asperger's syndrome, a developmental disorder. Halford is among thousands of Minnesotans who have been paid less than the minimum wage solely because they have a disability. They work at dozens of centers across the state, known as sheltered workshops, that are allowed under a loophole in federal law to pay people with disabilities based on their productivity, rather than a fixed hourly rate. In many cases, their pay amounts to less than $1 an hour for basic tasks such as sorting and packaging merchandise, shredding paper or picking up garbage on work crews.
More than 8,000 Minnesotans with a range of disabilities, including Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and autism spectrum disorder, attend these cloistered workplaces — among the most of any state, according to federal workforce data.
Now, this separate and unequal payment regime is coming to an end. This month, after years of pushing by disability advocates, Minnesota became the latest state to move to abolish the practice of paying people with disabilities a subminimum wage. Tucked deep inside a 533-page budget bill is a measure that establishes a task force to develop a plan to phase out subminimum wages by August 2025. Lawmakers also approved $14.1 million in grants to help disability service providers transform their business models and boost work options in the community.
#accessibility #disabilityrights #disability #workplace #minimumwage
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