COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) – A federal law that’s been on the books since the 1930s has allowed employers to pay workers with disabilities less than the minimum wage.
And until recently, some workers in South Carolina were being paid as little as 5 cents per hour.
After years of work – a law is now in effect that puts a stop to paying workers a subminimum wage in South Carolina – making it the 13th state in the nation to enact this type of ban.
“These individuals were not having opportunities to really grow in skills. They were basically placed in these sheltered workshops in this subminimum wage right out of high school, and they were there for decades and decades,” said Sandy Jordan, ABLE SC vice president and chief community integration program officer.
The situation in which around 4,000 people in South Carolina found themselves just a few years ago – sometimes earning mere *cents or just a few dollars per hour.
“We saw things like rolling silverware that would go to restaurants, and those types of skills don’t necessarily meet everybody’s capabilities. … And they’re not getting to exercise that if you’re going into a building and sitting at a table and rolling silverware everyday, right,” said Mary Alex Kopp, ABLE SC vice president and chief public relations officer.
Gov. Henry McMaster actually signed the bill getting rid of the subminimum wage allowance into law in 2022.
But for the last two years – a task force has been working to help thousands of people who had been working in these settings – to transition into regular employment or other opportunities.
“We’ve seen that people with disabilities are responding to this opportunity to do other things,” said Beth Franco, Disability Rights South Carolina executive director.
That phase-out period just ended at the start of August – officially making paying a worker a subminimum wage illegal in South Carolina.
“It’s a pretty progressive bill for South Carolina and really put us on the forefront to show other southern states that this is possible,” Jordan said.
Franco said: “We still have work to do. We still have challenges to address, but this is a very big deal for people with disabilities in South Carolina.”
Soon a new “employment first commission” will be established to continue this work and help more people with disabilities work toward employment.
Disability advocates say since South Carolina passed this law more than two years ago, more states have also enacted legislation to end subminimum wage in their states.
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Publish date : 2024-08-12 12:10:00
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