- Comment on HB 1706
- About HB 1706, Eliminating subminimum wage certificates for persons with disabilities
- Call the legislative hotline: 1.800.562.6000.
Washington leads the nation when it comes to supporting people with developmental disabilities to work in integrated settings. The national average is 19 percent supported in integrated jobs; here it is 87 percent. We do this by helping people find the right job and follow up
with training specific to that job. In states that rely on subminimum
wages to spur employment, as few as 1 percent of people with
developmental disabilities receiving employment supports are being supported in integrated settings.
Or translated – being helped to find and keep normal jobs, with fair pay, alongside other members of the community.
More
than any other state, we have shown the nation that even people with
the most significant support needs can work successfully in competitive
integrated employment at minimum wage or higher.
Over
the past seven years, the number of individuals in Washington most
impacted by their disabilities (high acuity) who are working in
competitive, integrated environments has nearly tripled from 405 to 1,211.
We achieved this because people with disabilities said they did not want sheltered employment, and service providers listened. Providers like Morningside and At Work! stopped offering services in sheltered environments and transitioned – successfully – to what is known as an individual supported employment model. Employers like Microsoft and the City of Seattle launched supported employment programs for people with disabilities. And when they saw benefits, they spread the word. They were finding new talent with high retention rates and their workforce showed more empathy.
We achieved this because people with disabilities said they did not want sheltered employment, and service providers listened. Providers like Morningside and At Work! stopped offering services in sheltered environments and transitioned – successfully – to what is known as an individual supported employment model. Employers like Microsoft and the City of Seattle launched supported employment programs for people with disabilities. And when they saw benefits, they spread the word. They were finding new talent with high retention rates and their workforce showed more empathy.
The timing - we thought - to end subminimum wages for people with
disabilities was spot on. The Arc of King County presented at a work
session on the topic this fall to the House labor committee, and we
cheered when two bills were introduced to end the practice.
Most subminimum wages in Washington are associated with sheltered, or
prevocational work, which was a type of employment service paid for with
Medicaid long-term support funds. A decision at the federal level five
years ago said those supported employment funds could no longer be used
in segregated settings. So Washington state has been phasing that model
out. In July, there were just 132 people getting services in sheltered
settings and the state was on track to have everyone moved to new
services by the March 2019 deadline.
The question now facing Washington is whether we want to see two salary
systems in integrated employment. As public policy, do we want to
continue to say people with disabilities don’t count when it comes to
minimum-wage protection - even when doing the same job alongside
non-disabled co-workers?
Last
week, it looked like Washington was ready to say no, and that workers
who happened to have disabilities should get minimum wage protection.
This
week ... well, this week we aren't sure. One bill died after a heated
public hearing. An expected vote did not happen on the other bill.
Advocates with disabilities crowded the hallways in Olympia this week to
urge passage of the bill, but it is not clear their voices were heard.
Washington’s
law allowing subminimum wages for people with disabilities dates to
1959. It predates the Americans with Disabilities Act and other civil
rights law. When it passed, schools could legally refuse to educate
people with disabilities. Allowing subminimum wages allows employers to
treat people with disabilities differently. No class of employees should
be marginalized, and minimum wage protections should be just that.
Protections. For everyone.
You can comment on this bill directly using the legislature's online form, here.
You can also call the legislative hotline: 1.800.562.6000.
- Ramona Hattendorf, Director of Advocacy, The Arc of King County
The Arc of King County protects and promotes the civil and human rights of people with developmental disabilities.
