Support Fair Wages for People with Disabilities
Grantmakers in the Arts is writing to encourage individuals to comment in support of the U.S. Department of Labor’s elimination of Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act by January 17, 2025. This rule change would discontinue the exemptions that currently allow employers to pay people with disabilities less than the minimum wage. You may comment HERE. Further information on the proposal and detailed instructions on how you may comment are provided here by Autistic Self Advocacy Network and here by Center for American Progress.
In December 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released a 137-page proposed rule that would immediately halt the issuance of certificates that allow employers to pay less than minimum wage and institute a three-year phaseout period for employers that already hold those certificates. The U.S. DOL and the White House Office of Management and Budget are asking the public to comment on this proposed change now through January 17, 2025.
Employer advocates maintain that the Section 14(c) exemptions facilitate employment for people with disabilities. Studies have shown that discontinuing the exemptions’ use and paying typical wages instead increases employment for people with disabilities.
Grantmakers in the Arts encourages you – either as an individual or as a representative of your organization – to advocate in support of the elimination of the exemptions to paying people with disabilities typical wages. As we explain here, individuals, nonprofit organizations, and community foundations can lobby for changes to public policies and practices but foundations and government agencies cannot.
GIA advocates for this rule change in keeping with our support for artists with disabilities as recipients of grant support as we articulate in this webinar and as people who should be allowed an income without being disqualified for public support as we articulate in this webinar and this blog post.
GIA would like to thank Creatives Rebuild New York and People’s Hub for their education, insights and advice on this issue.
