by Gary Wunder
Since its very beginning in 1940, the National Federation of the Blind has opposed the payment of subminimum wages to blind people. Our first formal statement of this opposition was a resolution in 1942 which said:
WHEREAS, the purpose of the Fair Labor Standards Act was to establish a floor under the wages of the poorest paid groups of American workers and thereby to raise the standard of living and to remove the national weaknesses resulting from the maintenance of a class of workers below a decent American standard of living, and
WHEREAS, the Wages and Hours Division in charge of the enforcement of said Act has issued certain certificates and contemplates issuing further certificates removing blind workers in sheltered shops and elsewhere from the benefits of such Act and
WHEREAS, the exemption of such blind workers from such benefits defeats the very purpose of such Act and tends to establish a class of pauper workers and to create sweat-shop conditions among the least fortunate workers in this country, and
WHEREAS, such action by the said Wages and Hours Division has been taken and is being further considered without consulting the blind themselves, and
WHEREAS, organization of the blind workers in the various states and the officers of this Federation are perhaps the only agencies from which the said Wages & Hours Division can actually learn the wishes of the Blind, the capacities of blind workers and the conditions under which the blind actually live, now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, by the National Federation of the Blind that we protest against the issuance of certificates exempting blind workers from the benefits of the said Fair Labor Standards Act, and that we respectfully request that all Federal agencies entrusted with the adoption of regulations under and the enforcement of said Act hold public hearings throughout the country and secure the testimony and views of the blind themselves at such hearings, and consider the needs and desires of the working blind in all steps in relation to said Act to blind workers.
Adopted by the Third Annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind assembled in the City of Des Moines, State of Iowa, this 26th day of June, 1942.
J. tenBroek
President
J. DeBeer
Secretary
Of late, we have been pursuing a two-prong approach to doing away with Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act by pressing both Congress and the Biden Administration to do what is in their power to abolish the practice. The Biden Administration has acted by submitting a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and is giving the public until January 17 to make comments. Affirmatively acknowledging and commending this activity is the following press release issued on December 5, 2024:
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the transformative advocacy organization of blind Americans, today expressed its commendation of the United States 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.”
As we study the NPRM, we will be drafting comments on behalf of the Federation and asking that members submit their own comments. Time is short, so when you see a request, please react promptly.