House passes end date to disabled workers’ subminimum wage with bipartisan support
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — Illinois workers with developmental disabilities are closer to seeing higher wages.
Right now, certain businesses are allowed a federal certification under the Fair Labor Relations Act called 14(c) that allows them to offer pay lower than the federal minimum wage to “workers with disabilities that impair their productivity”, according to the U.S Department of Labor. 66 businesses across the state have applied for or received the designation.
In 2020, a report from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found from 2017-2018, the national average for a disabled worker under the 14(c) exemption had a wage of $3.34 and worked 16 hours per week.
Push to eliminate subminimum wage for disabled workers gets momentum in Capitol
Rep. Theresa Mah (D-Chicago) is sponsoring a bill to end that subminimum wage. She said several organizations like Macon Resources in Decatur still hire disabled workers, but have stopped paying their employees the lower wages.
“Paying subminimum wages to disabled workers perpetuates and reinforces untrue, unfortunate expectations, low expectations, about people with disabilities in the workforce,” she said on the House floor. “This bill emphasizes the potential and the worth of people with disabilities, and directs our states resources towards better programs and supports to serve this population.”
The effective date for the bill sunsetting the subminimum wage isn’t until 2030 passed the Illinois House of Representatives Thursday night. Previous iterations of the bill proposed an earlier start date.
“Passing this bill and getting us started on the process is a commitment between the state agencies, the advocates, the providers, to move towards a better system that provides resources and expands resources for everyone,” Mah said.
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House Minority Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savana) said she’s talked with people at the Rolling Hills Progress Center, a packaging center which employs people with developmental disabilities, who are anxious if the bill will backfire and leave dozens of disabled workers unemployed.
“They’re scared, and they should be scared,” McCombie said. “Because if we get this wrong, they’re going to close, and that aging population will be hurt.”
While Republicans previously were concerned about the bill, several Republicans voted for it including McCombie to vote yes, saying the state law will be updated to ensure no employer will face closures from the increased pay.
“We still have time, by pushing this out to 2030, we have time to make this a perfect bill,” McCombie added.
The bill passed 78-30-3. It now heads to the Senate.
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