The latest post in my series “When Politicians do Good Things” compliments the state legislature and Governor of Kansas.  This past week, Governor Laura Kelly of Kansas signed into law a bill which phases out the use of 14c certificates by Kansas employers.  14c certificates are certificates that businesses apply for so that they can pay intellectually disabled workers less than the minimum wage.  They were created by the passage of Section 14c of the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act.   It was lauded at the time as improving the livelihood of that population by providing them an opportunity to work, since most intellectually disabled people were institutionalized.  It facilitated the growth of sheltered workshops, which are organization’s where disabled people come and do simple tasks such as organizing coat hangers and cutting up bottles.  Sheltered workshops set up contract’s with businesses in order to help them with work.  In this day and age, many view the concept of 14c certificates as demeaning and discriminatory.  While the use of 14c certificates has declined in recent years, there are still a wide range of organizations that take advantage of the program including ironically, non-profits which are dedicated to advancing the lives of disabled people such as the ARC of Favarh.  The concept of people doing menial tasks in sheltered workshops has been compared to being little better than prison labor.

Fortunately, states are starting take action against this practice.  One provision of the law that Governor Kelly signed provides an income tax credit to businesses who pay disabled workers the minimum wage.  It ends the requirement of disabled employees having to work a certain amount of hours in order to qualify for health insurance.  The measure also allows the state to provide grants, called the “Shelter Workshop Transition Grant Program” to facilitate the employers move away from using 14c certificates.  In addition to Kansas, 15 other states have passed laws phasing out employer use of these certificates over the past decade.  Just recently, the U.S Department of Labor announced that they were going to make a comprehensive review of the 14c certificate program.  The most inspiring part about the passage of the measure in Kansas is that it was approved almost unanimously in the State Legislature.

We have made great strides over the past several decades when it comes to how we treat disabled people, from the end of mass institutionalization, passing the Americans With Disabilities Act to increasing representation in pop culture.  It is great news that this discriminatory practice is being phased out.  When we say Disabled does not mean Unable, we should mean it by paying them the same type of wage as everyone else.