Baltimore, Maryland (December 5, 2024): The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the transformative advocacy organization of blind Americans, today expressed its commendation of the U.S. Department of Labor for its proposed rule aimed at phasing out the payment of subminimum wages to disabled workers under section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

“The National Federation of the Blind has fought the payment of subminimum wages since 1942, so we wholeheartedly applaud the Department of Labor for bringing forth this proposed rule,” said Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind. “The antiquated and discriminatory practice of paying subminimum wages is based on false and stereotypical assumptions about the capacity of the blind and other disabled workers. It is and always has been an assault on our dignity that devalues not only our labor, but our very humanity. While we commend this regulatory proposal, we continue to urge the United States Congress to codify this change into our nation’s statutory law with no further delay, ending this shameful practice once and for all and relegating it, like other forms of discrimination, to everlasting infamy.”