(The Center Square) – A new Illinois law will prohibit organizations from paying less than the minimum wage to workers with disabilities.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law Tuesday the Dignity in Pay Act, which implements a 5-year plan to phase out subminimum wage authorizations in Illinois for people with disabilities.
“We are sending an unequivocal message across Illinois and, frankly, the rest of the country that nobody should underestimate or undervalue the labor of persons with disabilities,” Pritzker said. “Here and after, workers with disabilities will be compensated properly with the dignity and respect they deserve.”
The law also creates a grant fund of $2 million to help community agencies transition away from the subminimum wages. The measure eliminates the use of 14(c) certificates as of July 1, 2029.
The subminimum wage exemption was passed into law as Section 14(c) of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. For nearly a century, Section 14(c) has enabled certain employers to obtain certificates to employ individuals with disabilities at wages far below the minimum wage.
“I’ve heard from friends, family and constituents about the pain they have to live with knowing their son or daughter is doing manual labor in a shop for eight hours a day only to come home with pennies on the dollar in their paycheck,” said state Sen. Cristina Castro, D-Elgin, the bill’s co-sponsor.
Disabled workers and their families from around Illinois rallied at the State Capitol last year to voice opposition to the legislation, arguing that many disabled workers would be out of work because companies will no longer hire them at a higher wage.
State Rep. Charlie Meier, R-Okawville, despite voting in favor of the measure, was a vocal critic and worried many disabled workers would lose their jobs.
“They want that paycheck but a lot of them don’t cash it because they don’t want the money but they want that paycheck, they want that honor, they want that dignity,” said Meier.
Illinois becomes the 19th state to eliminate the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities.
