Blind Americans Protest the Payment of Subminimum Wages to Workers with Disabilities

BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The National Federation of the Blind, the oldest and largest nationwide organization of blind people, conducted over twenty informational protests across the United States to raise awareness about the practice of paying wages below the federal minimum wage to Americans with disabilities. The protests were held yesterday, the twenty-first anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, at the primary district office locations of United States senators serving on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (the HELP Committee). The HELP Committee is currently considering legislation—the Workforce Investment Act—which would reauthorize the payment of subminimum wages to disabled workers.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: “Unequal pay for equal work on the basis of disability is unfair, discriminatory, and immoral. We urge the senators who serve on the HELP Committee to eliminate the indefensible practice of paying disabled workers less than the federal minimum wage.”

A total of twenty-one informational protests were held in sixteen states, including Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington, and Wyoming.

On Wednesday, August 3, the HELP Committee is scheduled to vote on the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), which contains language reauthorizing the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.   The Rehabilitation Act is supposed to provide services to disabled Americans so that they can obtain competitive employment, but Title V, Section 511 of the proposed Rehabilitation Act language reinforces Section 14(c) of the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which allows certain entities holding special wage certificates to pay workers with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage. 

For more information on the National Federation of the Blind and fair wages for workers with disabilities, please visit www.nfb.org.

About the National Federation of the Blind

With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in the United States. The NFB improves blind people’s lives through advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and self-confidence. It is the leading force in the blindness field today and the voice of the nation's blind. In January 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and training center in the United States for the blind led by the blind.

CONTACT:

National Federation of the Blind
Chris Danielsen
Director of Public Relations
410-659-9314, extension 2330
410-262-1281 (Cell)
cdanielsen@nfb.org

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