Posts In: Advocacy

On September 4, Judge Richard D.

Earlier this week I had the honor of representing the National Federation of the Blind at a White House ceremony where President Barack Obama signed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

At the recently concluded annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind, there was much discussion about Resolution 2014-12, regarding the accessibility of apps for the Apple iPhone and other iOS devices.

The abhorrent practice of employing workers with disabilities at subminimum wages, which stems from the poor public policy codified in Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), has unfortunately been imbedded in disability service models and promoted as a viable alternative for people with disabilities who have significant challenges to employment.

More than four-hundred thousand people with disabilities are being paid subminimum wages—and it’s legal! Under current law, Special Wage Certificates are granted to nonprofit agencies that run “sheltered workshops” to employ people with disabilities.

In a recent article, "Goodwill faces criticism over pay for disabled workers," PolitiFact Georgia attempts to evaluate the truthfulness of the National Federation of the Blind’s claims in our call for the repeal of Sect

So you go to work tomorrow, and it is pay day. You receive a paycheck for $15.00 for two weeks of work. You speak to your supervisor, and you are informed that the company has switched to a new payroll model based on a new law, Section D (9) (u), that calculates wages based on a new commensurate wage formula.

ACCSES, the American Congress of Community Supports and Employment Services, is the name of an nonprofit “charitable” organization that claims to represent disability service providers across the country and professes to be the voice of disability service providers speaking for people with disabilities.

Today, the U.S. Department of Labor will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) with an all-day program.  There will be a host of presentations on various wage and workplace achievements.  However, a significant topic will not be discussed: Section 14(c) of the FLSA.  

Is Goodwill Tricking or Treating its Contributors?