Obama’s Wage Hike For Federal Contractors Won’t Apply to Disabled Workers

[WilliamPitt]

Obama’s Wage Hike For Federal Contractors Won’t Apply to Disabled Workers
By Mike Elk
In These Times

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Obama announced that he would issue an executive order raising the minimum wage to $10.10 for workers employed on federal contracts. The order has yet to be issued, so it’s unclear exactly how many and what type of workers will be covered. However, one group is already slated for exclusion: workers in a special government contracting program for people with disabilities.

Ari Ne’eman, president of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, says that disability advocates were informed on a conference call Wednesday with Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez that Obama’s executive order will not apply to federal contractors that use “14(c) programs”—in which workers with disabilities are paid subminimum wages.

Under the 14(c) exemption in the Fair Labor Standards Act, workers with disabilities are excluded from minimum-wage protections if they are employed in certified training programs. Though there is no official government data on the size of these programs, the National Council on Disabilities estimates that the federal government employs thousands of workers under 14(c). Nationwide, approximately 420,000 disabled Americans are employed in 14(c) programs coordinated through federal, state and local governments, and legally paid below the minimum, with some only making pennies per hour.

The rest: http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/16205/obamas_wage_hike_for_federal_contractors_wont_apply_to_disabled_workers/

Thoughts?

[ForgoTheConsequence]

1. God dammit.

We are becoming the third world.

[fredamae]

2. I think that Stinks!

What-do people with special needs-who are Maximizing their abilities-in the same way we all do---have Lower Costs of Living?
I call bullshit.

[msanthrope]

8. It's a statute that needs repeal..and so an EO won't cover this. But Congress could pass the

bill Prosense mentioned below.

[1StrongBlackMan]

3. Once again ...

Let's make the perfect the enemy of the good. That works so well.

[Whisp]

36. I think 'Kenyan Socialist Corporatist Muslin' is waiting in the wings.

[El_Johns]

4. KR.

[ProSense]

5. The question is

According to the National Council on Disability’s statement, “NCD believes that the Section 14(c) program is a policy relic from the 1930s, when discrimination was inevitable because service systems were based on a charity model, rather than empowerment and self-determination, and when societal low expectations for people with disabilities colored policymaking … If the administration agrees with this principle and wants to stamp out income inequality for all Americans, including Americans with disabilities, we urge you to reconsider what was shared on yesterday’s White House conference call and explicitly state in the Executive Order that the increase in the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors applies to all employees of federal contractors, including thousands of Americans with disabilities who are currently being paid less than minimum wage under the Section 14(c) program.”

...why after 75 years is this still legal?

Goodwill Pays Disabled Workers As Little As 22 Cents Per Hour
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/06/24/2201101/goodwill-pays-cents-per-hour/

Bill:

H.R. 831: Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act of 2013

To phase out special wage certificates under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 under which individuals with disabilities may be employed at subminimum wage rates.

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr831/text

[jwirr]

13. My daughter works at a sheltered workshop. She seldom makes more than a couple of dollars a

month. Why? Simple. She cannot do any work without a one-to-one worker using hands on to get her to push the button. She is at the shop for reasons other than making money. She enjoys the companionship of the other workers and the atmosphere in the work rooms. I am not sure why I should object to this. She is not getting much work done and it costs more than she makes to provide the hands on help. She is now old enough that she has "retired" but is still allowed to join the others in their work room.

Many of her fellow workers a much higher functioning and they make a lot more than she does. I think some of the problem here is that there is a distinct difference between the disabled persons who work in the regular system and the sheltered workshop.

[ProSense]

15. Thanks for the insight.

"Many of her fellow workers a much higher functioning and they make a lot more than she does. I think some of the problem here is that there is a distinct difference between the disabled persons who work in the regular system and the sheltered workshop. "

Congress should change the law to make if fair where applicable.

Best to you and your daughter.

[jwirr]

16. Maybe the president will use one of those EOs to address this difference. I can only hope.

[freshwest]

45. ProSense, I had not replied on your thread because of this. Thanks for understanding.

A higher wage will also take away some people's housing, food, transportation and health care.

The opportunity to work at jobs others would not ever think of as a challenge or work is a big boost to such. And the cost of the one-on-one is a very important factor.

I didn't want to talk about it because the focus here at DU is primarily ideological. For those suffering discrimination by being paid less for equal work is wrong.

For those who cannot do equal work, as jwirr describes and I havce seen, sadly one size does not fit all.

[freshwest]

46. Jwirr, I thank you with all my heart for bringing this up. n/t

[jwirr]

57. You are welcome. This is an area that I can be of help because I have lived with my daughter and

her friends for 50 some years. They are my heart and my life. This wage issue in regards to them is very different from the issues facing most low-income workers.

[msanthrope]

6. An EO can't override a statute of Congress.... 29 USC ss214 has to be repealed by Congress....

Let's hope they do so.

[Rex]

12. Oh great...Congress.

[msanthrope]

27. its a pen not a wizard wand.. there's only so much the man can do. nty

[Rex]

29. No not that...the fact that it is THIS Congress

that we have to rely on. Their record makes me go...

[msanthrope]

31. Oh...I didn't think you were critiquing PBO! nt

[Rex]

32. I feel sorry for the man, having to work with people that hate you for your skin color

alone would be too much for me personally. How he does it and keeps his cool is one of the main reasons I respect him and think he is the greatest POTUS of my lifetime. I liked Bill Clinton, but I don't think they even compare imo.

[Skidmore]

33. This. Thank you.

There is the way people think government works and the way it actually does. And I'm so sick of people ignoring Congress's constitutionally assigned duties and the very real fact that they have shirked them. It would also help for the outraged on this thread to learn a bit about how compensation for those with disabilities works--a nightmarish hodgepodge of federal and state rules that needs to be reformed in the worst way.

[msanthrope]

39. We've allowed the Congress to act like toddlers. Forgetting that the Founders set

them up to be the branch most responsible to us..the people.

[jwirr]

7. Many of the disabled workers in our area are working in sheltered workshops that pay less than

minimum wage and are subsidized by some government program for these wages. I don't know how this will effect them since most are dependent on other government programs and if their income gets too high they lose out on those programs.

For instance my daughter is severely disabled and needs a lot of health care. She is on Medicare and Medicaid. If she is not eligible for MA then she is in big trouble. So for many of this group it is not a question of minimum wage but of staying on medical assistance. It would be interesting to see how a raise in wages and the ACA work together to help this group.

[freshwest]

47. +1

[Cha]

51. Thanks for your inside knowledge, jwirr.. nm

[liberal_at_heart]

68. Probably not enough unless the raise is enough to cover 20% of medical bills which can

reach into the thousands of dollars.

[TheMathieu]

9. My thoughts?

I'm glad his generous actions have highlighted this horrific policy that can only be changed by Congress.

[SidDithers]

10. They're talking about sheltered workshops...

which serve a purpose other than as a profit-making company. These workshops provide "jobs" to adults and teens with intellectual and developmental disabilities, usually light packaging, but the jobs are in no way equivalent to what you'd find at a co-packer that pays their employees minimum wage or higher.

In Canada, it's organizations like Community Living that run support services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities - services like staffed residential homes, transit training, planning services for families, and sheltered workshops - so that adults who are otherwise unemployable will be able to participate in an alternative form of employment.

I think in the US, its organizations like The ARC that provide similar services.

Sid

[1StrongBlackMan]

37. Thank you, Sid ...

and Jwirr.

The folks complaining are comparing apples and oranges.

[freshwest]

48. +1

[cali]

40. so provide the evidence that backs your claims here. looks like you're just speculating.

[loyalsister]

53. A person is as valuable as the number of widgets they can produce

People who are too defective to have JOBS as opposed to "jobs" is a mentality that perpetuates discrimination and devaluation of people with disabilities.

Support services in the US = supported living environments, job coaches, etc. They are supports for people who have otherwise been forced to live in institutions.

The ARC is an advocacy group that absolutely does not participate in furthering such biases and devaluation.

http://www.thearc.org/

There are employers who are taking steps to train and hire people with disabilities...

"Through the program, Walgreens partners with local disability service providers to identify and train prospective employees for jobs in retail environments. Upon successful completion of the program, individuals can apply for work at Walgreens or other retailers that rely on a similar skill set."

http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2012/05/21/walgreens-nationwide/15665/

[SidDithers]

55. "A person is as valuable as the number of widgets they can produce"...

unfortunately, that's the reality of the situation much of the time.

Until an alternate form of JOB is available, a worker who needs direct, nearly one-on-one supervision, and whose rate of production is a tenth of what a regular worker would produce, is not going to find employment at $10.10 per hour. They simply aren't.

Sid

[loyalsister]

56. Do you know the people you're demeaning?

Examples of environmental support include:

On-site fitness facilities, walking/running trails, basketball hoop, or open green space for exercise or relaxation
Healthy foods available in an on-site cafeterias, snack shops, or vending machines
On-site showers and changing rooms
On-site occupational health clinics
Bulletin boards, kiosks, intranet or other communications mechanisms that provide information on the company workplace health program, workplace or community opportunities for health programs or services, or general health promotion information
Supportive supervisory structure
Control of dust, fumes, and vapors
Good lighting and well-designed work spaces
Workplace health programs are not add-on benefits but basic investments in human capital, similar to training, mentoring, and other employee development programs.

Regardless of which interventions are selected, the program should strive to:

Use multiple interventions, such as combining a policy and a health benefit intervention, for a single health issue. Combinations are more effective than any one intervention alone
Use interventions that address multiple health issues at the same time, which is more effective than addressing each single health issue separately

http://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/implementation/support.html

The policies listed above go a long way toward opening a successful opportunities for people with disabilities to work and for ignorant people to gain some enlightenment.

[SidDithers]

63. Absolutely I do...

do you?

Pat is an 40 year old man. He is an individual with a significant intellectual disability. He is non-verbal. He lives in a group home with 3 other men. They have 2 residential support workers that are with them in the house from 3:00 pm to 11:00 pm, and help them with personal care, with meals, and with the work that needs to be done around the house. They have an overnight support worker who comes in at 11:00 pm and is with them until 7:30 the next morning.

In the morning, Pat is and his housemates are picked up in a van and taken to a sheltered workshop. There, they do light duty packaging with the help of their vocational support workers. There might be 6-8 support workers for the 30 to 40 people working at the workshop.

It is in no way demeaning to recognize the simple truth that Pat, and thousands of others like Pat, are not capable of working outside of the sheltered workshop environment. What job at Walgreen's do you think Pat could do?

Sid

[loyalsister]

65. I don't know Pat and I don't know the specifics about employment at Walgreens

So I don't know. Maybe there isn't a job that he could do there. If there isn't a job other than day care for pennies, maybe there is something in the volunteer arena that could be satisfying.
It's true that teaching people that they have value only if they are employed not on their own terms, but under a paradigm that diminishes the abilities they do have, is a fact of life in American culture.

The disgusting thing about the sheltered workshops is that their existence gives people permission to comfortably identify people with disabilities as less valuable.

As a person who faces those biases and discrimination, I keep hoping that we're better than that.

[Demo_Chris]

66. As employees they might be less valuable...

This is, of course, irrelevant to their value as people.

[loyalsister]

67. How do we talk about nondisabled people and employment?

They talk about work performance not the value of a worker. Differences in strengths and weaknesses are assumed and accepted.

Nondisabled people who don't do well professionally sometimes "can't find their niche."

Is there a context in which a person who has a disability could be considered a "more valuable" employee? (Suppose a person who is deaf works in an area of a factory that hearing workers dislike.) The generalization that permits this policy is bunk.

[Demo_Chris]

69. Respectfully, no....

Minimum wages become ridiculous the moment one's ability to do a job is no longer a factor in their keeping that job. You might say that minimum wages only apply when there are minimum performance standards.

[loyalsister]

70. wow

I have never met a Democrat who opposed minimum wage.

[Demo_Chris]

71. We aren't really talking here about employees....

These people are not there as employees, there are no (or few) standards they must meet and no performance expectations, they are there for personal therapy.

[loyalsister]

74. "these people" should not be eligible to participate

in the daily life in which nondisabled people live? Nuff said. Believe it or not, there are spaces where people are more welcoming than that. That is all.

[Demo_Chris]

75. Is that how you feel? Seems a bit extreme to me. nt

[loyalsister]

77. We aren't really talking about "employees"

They aren't employees they just work there.
Might as well say they aren't real people. Use of the term "these people" or "those people" reveals that the speaker has an attitude of othering the people he\she is talking about. "These people" are me and my friends. So, yes it makes me angry.

[joeglow3]

79. Who can pay someone $10 an hour and get 1/20 of the productivity needed?

[loyalsister]

80. There's the problem

People are unwilling to accept and value different abilities that don't necessarily match those of people considered "normal." Jobs with expectations that match a person's strengths...

I personally know people who have down syndrome and participate in advocacy. They have proposed legislation that actually passed. They have to spend more time learning things and there are some limits on how far they can go. But adjusting expectations to meet them and focusing on strengths, it is possible for people with down syndrome to do much more than expected.

"My name is Sara Wolff. I am a 31 year-old from Moscow, Pennsylvania, who happens to have Down syndrome but that doesn’t stop me from achieving “my” better life. I work as a law clerk and also at Keystone Community Resources in the Office of Advocacy. I am a board member of the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS). I'm calling on Congress to pass the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act (S. 313/H.R. 647), a bill that will help individuals with disabilities to save for their futures."

http://www.change.org/petitions/u-s-house-of-representatives-pass-the-able-act

[cap]

82. Maybe they are in the wrong job

And there is a much better job that is better suited for them rather routine work.

[joeglow3]

84. I would like to think that

However, as was mentioned in this thread, there are people who struggle pushing a button and need a full time person with them to make sure they are doing their "job." I think most rational people would agree this is more of a charitable endeavor by the company to provide therapy and human interaction for the individual and less of a "job" that is really benefitting the company. The reality is if you say a company has to pay over $10 an hour for this, most would have to cut this program. And given that I cannot blame the company one bit in this scenario, who ends up hurt?

[loyalsister]

85. I don't think most people understand what is actually going on

These businesses are exploiting that loophole. Do you believe that the executives at Goodwill would be making as much as they do without being able to pay workers pennies per hour?

“That Goodwill Industries exploits many of its workers in this way is ironic, because its president and chief executive officer is blind. Goodwill cannot credibly argue that workers with disabilities are incapable of doing productive work while paying its blind CEO over half-a-million dollars a year,” Maurer said.

http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2012/06/12/goodwill-paying-less/15827/

[joeglow3]

87. And there needs to be a mechanism to report this

Would you support doing away with safety nets because some people abuse them?

[loyalsister]

88. yeah that's the same thing

The conversation where people think they know who is and isn't eligible (based on a fraudulent disabled neighbor or family member they don't like) is usually with republicans.

It has been reported on the news and in the press. There has been legislation proposed that would eliminate that loophole. The only way it won't be exploited is if it does not exist.

[joeglow3]

89. So, if we support the program, accept the exceptions. If we don't support it

eliminate the exceptions. I see.

[loyalsister]

90. Eliminate sheltered workshops

Create transition plans, and ultimately phase out the 14(c) program....

Recommendation: NCD recommends that Congress reauthorize and direct SSA, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the DOL’s Employment and Training Administration to develop and implement an expanded, integrated benefits planning and assistance program that coordinates resources and oversight across several agencies, enabling beneficiaries, including those transitioning out of subminimum wage settings, to access benefits planning services within multiple federal systems. SSA should also make changes to the existing system to improve the accuracy and quality of services provided to individual beneficiaries.

Recommendation: NCD recommends that the three partners authorized under the Development Disabilities Bill of Rights Act coordinate and expand efforts to support peer support to both families and individuals with intellectual developmental disabilities transitioning from the 14(c) programs to integrated employment.

Recommendations: The National Council on Disability recommends the following steps be taken with respect to the expansion of supported employment services:

At the state level:

Align reimbursement rates to providers to reflect a bias in favor of integrated settings and a primary preference in favor of integrated employment services.
Explore the possibility of performance based payment systems for employment supports, keeping in mind the need for ensuring adequate reimbursement to maintain and grow an adequate provider network.
Expand access to customized employment and job carving services.
Develop a strong working collaboration, including a Memorandum of Understanding outlining funding and administrative responsibilities and mechanisms for resolving disputes, between the state Vocational Rehabilitation agency, ID/DD service-provision agency and State Education Authority.
At the Federal level:

To the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services:

Require states applying for waivers or demonstration authority shifting part or all of their long term services and supports systems into managed care to indicate how they will maintain access to employment services, track quality through the use of non-clinical outcome measures and ensure MCO competency to develop and maintain the employment supports service-provision system.
Enhance monitoring, compliance and enforcement activities regarding state employment support policies to promote alignment with CMS’ September 2011 Informational Bulletin on Employment Support.
Congress:

Create a Money Follows the Person for Integrated Employment program, enabling the federal government to pick up 100% of the costs of supported employment services for individuals leaving a sheltered workshop or day habilitation setting for integrated employment.
Increase the Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage (FMAP) for Supported Employment Services in integrated employment settings while reducing the FMAP for pre-vocational services.
Instruct CMS to develop a minimum standard definition for integrated employment settings aligned with national best practices.
Create a federal grant program, administered by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, aimed at supporting state systems change efforts regarding integrated employment outcomes. Require states applying to include in their application clear and measurable systems change outcomes goals relating to integrated employment and a memorandum of agreement indicating means of collaboration between a consortium of relevant state entities, including at minimum the state vocational rehabilitation agency, the state ID/DD service-provision agency and the State Education Authority.
Enhance the Administration on Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (AIDD) budget for Projects of National Significance, specifically targeting initiatives relating to enhancing integrated employment outcomes.

Recommendation: NCD recommends the Congress should pass legislation phasing out the 14(c) program as outlined in this report.

Recommendation: NCD recommends that the U.S. Department of Labor cease issuing all Section 14(c) Certificates thirty days after passage of this legislation.

Recommendation: NCD recommends that the Department of Education undertake rulemaking to prohibit schools districts from establishing placement in a setting whereby the student will receive subminimum wage as a goal in any IEP.

Recommendation: NCD recommends that the Department of Labor undertake rulemaking to phase out all existing 14(c) certificates to providers of employment services according to the following schedule:

All individuals in certificate settings for ten years or less shall be transitioned within two years
All individuals in certificate settings for ten to twenty years shall be transitioned within in four years
All certificates shall expire in six years, and all individuals in certificate settings longer than twenty years shall be transitioned within six years.

[SidDithers]

73. Thank you. You're exactly correct...nt

Sid

[KharmaTrain]

86. This Is Amazing...

...I haven't visited DU much as of late and haven't posted in months as I've seen this place slide into absurdity and irrelevance. I expect this will be one of my last posts as my DU membership expires in a few days and I don't expect to be coming back here much. It's a shame since this place once provided a lot of valuable information and food for thought. Now it's flames, ignorance and intolerance.

That said, I'm related to someone who works in a sheltered workshop and is not unlike "Pat". 60 years ago these people would have been locked away in "hospitals" and left to rot. The workshop is just one facet of the lives in which they live among others with similar disabilities and work together to make their lives worth something.

As you most importantly point out, the workshop is non-profit and many of its "employees" are wards of the state. The work isn't steady as it's affected by the ups and down of the economy and whatever work they do is appreciated. My relative may not earn more than a couple thousand dollars a year, but it's as if she feels that she's contributed something...a part of the very big and generally ugly world that many handicapped and disabled people have to endure.

One last point...all of the people who are at that workshop are living on various forms of state and federal subsidies. Many of these subsidies have either dried up or been reduced in the past decade. If people want to be "outraged"...it should be directed at those who have championed the cutting of funding for the disabled.

Nuff said...not sure why I even posted this...

[treestar]

78. I kind of figured that

it involved a completely different program, and would be dealt with separately.

[Rex]

11. What the fuck is this with them making a sub-minimum wage?

DAMMIT that is crap...federal contractors are scum and obviously need regulations in place to make sure their employees are getting paid at least a living wage.

UGH.

[TeeYiYi]

14. Disabled workers...

...are probably collecting Disability. If they were paid the same as full time contractors, they would most likely lose their Disability benefits. In that they're disabled, I doubt they even work full time.

I'm not saying I agree or disagree here but I suspect there's more to this story than meets the eye. I am, however, happy that this perceived disparity in minimum wage income equality will shine a light on the process.

TYY

[Scuba]

18. Lamest excuse ever.

Pay them a living wage and they won't need disability. Jeezus H. Christ on a trailerhitch.

[TeeYiYi]

21. If they are truly disabled...

...they'll likely always need Disability benefits and I doubt they are even capable of working a full time job. I don't know the details of this situation but I suspect there is some sort of explanation; lame or not.

TYY

[SidDithers]

22. They're unemployable at minimum wage...

We're talking people with significant intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Nobody will hire that person at $10.10 per hour, and get 1/50th the production from someone that requires full-time, 1-on-1 supervision.

Sid

[Scuba]

25. Source?

[SidDithers]

35. 20 years in the packaging industry...

working with, and competing against, sheltered workshops.

Sid

[1StrongBlackMan]

38. Oops!!! n/t

[sheshe2]

44. Great source, Sid.

[jwirr]

58. Here is my daughters resume: She cannot talk, cannot walk, needs a one-to-one to do everything

in her day. The job she does at the sheltered workshop is actually accomplished by one-to-one hands on help. They take her arm and place it where it needs to be and apply pressure to push the button. Who is going to hire her at minimum wage? These are the kind of jobs that did not get included in the Presidents bill. See my above posts.

Even if she could do the work on an equal basis there is still the issue of losing benefits. If she made a living wage she would lose her Medical Assistance and with both seizures that cannot be controlled and digestive disorders that would be the worst thing that could happen to her.

I post this because there are people who are not a part of the wage issue. That does not mean I do not support a living wage for all workers who can do equal work including disabled persons who can. Many of her friends do jobs out in the community and have to watch the number of hours they work so they don't lose medical coverage.

By the way almost all of this group are on Social Security Disability so the job is extra. It allows them to do what they can. It allows them to be a part of their communities.

[SidDithers]

64. Good post...

Sid

[Rex]

26. The excuses are epic failsauce.

Stuff I would expect to read in the WSJ.

[Scuba]

28. Or hear on Fox "News"

[Rex]

30. Pretty much verbatim.

Almost the same thing said about why it would be impossible to raise the minimum wage. Cost too much for the owners doncha know!

[JI7]

62. some people on disablity are not able to work and it would be unfair to force them

to do so in order to get any kind of money. force people who have limited ability to compete with others for jobs in order to get any kind of money ?

i know someone who is getting disablity. she does not work. many have tried to hire her but she has a lot of difficulty getting the job done. there is nothing wrong with people like this getting some kind of assistance from the government.

[Scuba]

72. I absolutely agree. But when people are able to work, they should be paid a living wage ...

... regardless of their disabilities.

[freshwest]

49. You are correct. And those that require a one-on-one would never get a 'regular' job. n/t

[liberal_at_heart]

60. Most Light House for the Blind employees assemble products for the military.

[Scuba]

17. WTF? That is NOT what I voted for, twice.

[NYC Liberal]

19. You do realize this is an aspect of federal law and as such cannot be changed with

an executive order...right?

[Scuba]

20. No. And I'm not sure how that mitigates the Executive responsibility or lessens his authority.

The minimum wage is an aspect of a federal law, is it not? And Obama's using an EO to require it to be raised.

If his hands are truly tied here, he should be using the bully pulpit to effect change.

[ProSense]

23. From the OP:

According to the National Council on Disability’s statement, “NCD believes that the Section 14(c) program is a policy relic from the 1930s, when discrimination was inevitable because service systems were based on a charity model, rather than empowerment and self-determination, and when societal low expectations for people with disabilities colored policymaking … If the administration agrees with this principle and wants to stamp out income inequality for all Americans, including Americans with disabilities, we urge you to reconsider what was shared on yesterday’s White House conference call and explicitly state in the Executive Order that the increase in the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors applies to all employees of federal contractors, including thousands of Americans with disabilities who are currently being paid less than minimum wage under the Section 14(c) program.”

"If his hands are truly tied here, he should be using the bully pulpit to effect change."

If he did, he'd probably be accused of trying to screw up a policy put in place by FDR. Could you imagine Obama saying something in the Fair Labor Standards Act is a "relic"? All hell would break loose.

Maybe it's best that he's being blamed for this, that way everyone will push to change it.

[Scuba]

24. Thanks, I appreciate your bring this part to light ...

The President should do the right thing. They'll criticize him regardless of what he does, short of abdicating the Presidency to Mitt Romney.

[Whisp]

34. LOL!

[tritsofme]

41. Is this supposed to be a dig at Obama? If so, it is utter bullshit, and not unsurprising.

You cannot rewrite law with an executive order.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

42. Are these real jobs, or sinecures?

If they're jobs that exist because the employer needs something done, then they should probably be paid at minimum wage.

If, however, they're essentially a form of charity that exists in order to boost the self-esteem and independence of people working in them, then they shouldn't necessarily be.

Siddithers, upthread, suggests the latter, and appears to know what they are talking about (although I don't know for sure).

[freshwest]

52. I know what Sid and jwirr are talking about it and it is a form of therapy in most cases and a way

to keep them active, integrate in community, get social skills, feel worthwhile as human beings in a world that in some cases doesn't want to know that they exist and possibly train them to be independent.

You are correct on all counts and your opinion is deeply appreciated by those of us who care about these folks.

[jwirr]

59. Very well said.

[Ilsa]

43. We need to raise the income level that disabled

Workers can earn without losing SSI or SSDI. The current level guarantees them a life of harsh poverty.

[Timez Squarez]

50. Testify!

I and the wife live on SSDI and my wife is limited to 28 hours a week earning $8.08.

I get $900 a month from my part-time work.

I would love it to see SSDI being adjusted to today's wage means.

[Lunacee_2013]

54. Why do the disabled always get screwed over?

Do employers just hope we're to sick to fight back? Do they think that just because we have "special needs" we don't deserve as much as a normal person? Do they think we're faking it?

IMHO, even worse than taking advantage of physically disabled people, like me, is taking advantage of the mentally disabled. At least I can tell when I'm getting screwed over, but I have mentally disabled friends who can't always tell when someone is using them. Anyone one who does that should be ashamed of themselves and, if its bad enough, in jail.

[BainsBane]

61. "If they are employed in training programs'

Your OP is misleading. My understanding is that no one employed in a training program gets a full wage because it is assumed that the employer should be compensated for the training. I'm not saying it is right, but it is not what the title of your OP suggests.

[MannyGoldstein]

76. Since disabilities are meted out by The Lord

Because people were naughty, often before being born, those people *deserve* poverty.

Am I right?

Regards,

Fundy Manny

[ProSense]

81. No,

Since disabilities are meted out by The Lord


Because people were naughty, often before being born, those people *deserve* poverty.

Am I right?

Regards,

Fundy Manny

...because of this:

It's time to repeal section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024425761

[cap]

83. I would like to see a better system for assessing the disabled and employing them

I don't think that shoving them into routine, rote jobs is a good general solution.

I would like to see an assessment based on Gardeners multiple intelligences employed. There are 12 different kinds of intelligences: verbal, math, visual spatial, kinesthetic, spiritual, social, etc. regular iq tests take into account People should be sorted according to their strengths first. Then their disabilities need to be accounted for.

Ideally, I would like to see workplaces planned around the principles of universal design. Universal design tries to make things accessible to as many people as possible. Think ipad. There is a lot going on with accessibility these days. There are visually guided computers and even brain computer interfaces being developed.

There are some disabled who are uniquely suited to routine, rote jobs and some who would be if adequate accommodations or equipment redesign is permitted. But not everyone.

I don't see why people who have a lot of social intelligence should be put in routine jobs that require a lot of hand eye coordination. They would be better off as counselors, for example.

I'd also like to see our workplaces change from the dog eat dog to a more caring environment. I think the Amish have it right. There is a lot of developmentally delayed people in the community but they find a spot for them in the workforce.

I think people should be paid a living wage. Even if you are disabled. I think income requirements on access to services should be abolished. It keeps people chained to situations that aren't right for them.

If people can't participate in a capitalistic environment (and I think that May be true for some severely compromised individuals where their strengths can not be adequately supported from a cost effective manner), I think they should work in a non profit where the subsidies and supports needed go towards a greater good for society rather than a corporations bottom line.