COUNCIL BLUFFS — A bill was introduced in March to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Education and the Workforce Committee to phase out Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The bill is the Transitioning to Integrated and Meaningful Employment (TIME) Act of 2017 (H.R. 1377) by Representative Gregg Harper (R-MS).
An employer, like a sheltered workshop as Vodec operates, holding a special minimum wage certificate issued by the U.S. Dept. of Labor may pay a person a special minimum wage when the person has a developmental disability which restricts full productivity.
In these days the special minimum wage can be a polarizing topic. Advocates for it believe it is a fair way to pay a person whose productivity is considerably less than 100 percent. Its opponents claim any employee should be paid at least a minimum wage regardless of his or her productivity. The reality is that many employers will not be able to pay even at least a minimum wage to any person whose productivity is considerably less than 100 percent.
Vodec operates in Iowa and Nebraska. There are no Representatives from either state on the Education and the Workforce Committee. A full list of the committee’s members can be found at this link http://edworkforce.house.gov/committee/subcommitteesjurisdictions.htm
If you have an opinion about whether Section 14(c) should be phased out or not please share it with your Representative or a member of the Education and the Workforce Committee.
# # #
#vodec #realizingpotential #shelteredworkshops #supportedemployment