October 7, 2014
The Honorable Harry Reid
522 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Reid:
I am writing to urge you to withdraw your appointment of Robert “Bob” Brown to fill a vacancy on the National Council on Disability (NCD). As you know, the NCD is an independent federal agency that advises the president, the United States Congress, and federal agencies on policies relating to Americans with disabilities. The National Federation of the Blind, the oldest and largest nationwide organization of blind Americans, believes that Mr. Brown’s views on disability policy conflict with the mission and the stated position of the NCD, the position of the Obama administration, and the progressive policies embodied in laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act.
To be specific, Mr. Brown supports the continued use of Special Wage Certificates issued by the Department of Labor under an antiquated provision known as Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. These certificates allow certain entities, usually segregated work environments, to pay workers with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage. The NCD has rightly called for the responsible phase-out of Section 14(c), and has issued a comprehensive report outlining its reasons for doing so. This general position is supported by the National Federation of the Blind and seventy-five other organizations of Americans with disabilities. More recently, President Obama has expressed his own reservations about Section 14(c) certificates; Executive Order 13658, issued on February 12, 2014, specifically requires that people working under federal service contracts, including those workers with disabilities who are employed under Special Wage Certificates, must be paid a minimum wage of at least $10.10 an hour. Moreover, during President Obama’s administration, the Department of Justice has reached settlements with the states of Oregon and Rhode Island that are designed to phase out sheltered, segregated employment and to prevent young people with disabilities from being shuttled directly from school into these workshops. But in an article for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, of which he is the publisher, Mr. Brown called the considered opinion of Americans with disabilities and of the Obama administration “nonsense.”
Mr. Brown not only supports the continued use of Special Wage Certificates but directly participates in it as a member of the board of directors of Opportunity Village. According to a response to a freedom of information request that we submitted to the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor, which we have attached for your examination, some of the workers in Opportunity Village’s facilities appear to be earning nothing at all, let alone anything approximating the federal minimum wage. It is fair to infer that Mr. Brown will not accurately, and certainly not zealously, represent the National Council on Disability, the Obama administration, or the stated will of Americans with disabilities, with respect to this critically important issue.
Mr. Brown and Opportunity Village represent an outdated model of service to Americans with disabilities that is based on low expectations and the false belief that these Americans cannot be productive workers. He is free to advocate his position in his newspaper and in his capacity with Opportunity Village, but he should not be given a platform to do so as a representative of the National Council on Disability, which expressly opposes the payment of subminimum wages and therefore correctly represents the view of the vast majority of Americans with disabilities. For this reason, we respectfully but urgently request that you reconsider your decision to appoint Mr. Brown.
Sincerely,
Mark Riccobono, President Rena Smith, State President
National Federation of the Blind National Federation of the Blind of Nevada