An eighty-year-old federal program allows employers to pay certain adults with disabilities less than minimum wage. Virginia is shutting this program down, and The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that the Biden administration aims to eliminate it nation-wide. It leaves behind a complicated legacy. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports in the second of a two-part story.
As we covered in our first report, the federal 14(c) program authorizes certain employers to pay workers with disabilities a subminimum wage. NW Works, in Winchester, is one of the organizations in our area that chose to leave that program voluntarily. They've been fully divorced from 14(c) for more than two years now.
The nonprofit offers group day support, volunteer opportunities, supported employment, and other services to people with disabilities and employment barriers. Skip Philips came on as president and CEO in 2023.
SKIP PHILIPS: Under 14(c), a lot of the work was hand-eye coordination work, so they would do various types of assembly. They would put kits together … some woodworking projects where there was some finishing of the wood and painting and things like that.
He said the organization's leadership knew the subminimum wage program would be sunsetted eventually, and the pandemic provided a natural pause in operations that prompted them to end it.
PHILIPS: The 14(c) program, by design, was a limiting program. It limited individuals' opportunity for growth, it limited their income opportunities because it was based on piecemeal production. It also limited the types and diversity of work that they were doing. … It also limited their social interactions and their interactions out in the community.
Now, NW Works focuses on finding the right employment fit for each individual, training and supporting them in jobs including labeling automotive paints for the company Axalta, or packaging decking board samples for Trex.
PHILIPS: Finding what the unique skills are, and making sure they're being used in the right setting, is really the key. … Not everybody that works at Trex could work out at Axalta, and vice versa.
He said other people with disabilities who aren't interested in employment or don't have the stamina to work regularly still have a place in NW Works' day programs, or volunteer programs that take trips to the SPCA and local food banks.
Another nonprofit that left 14(c) is Vector Industries in Waynesboro. About half of their employees have a documented disability, and the other half face barriers such as acute anxiety or a criminal record.
CHRISSY JOHNSTON: We do not focus on a disability. We focus on the ability.
CEO Chrissy Johnston showed me around their 82,000 square foot warehouse –
JOHNSTON: Hi May, how are you?
MAY: Alright, how are you?
… where employees were assembling cardboard partitions and punching out inserts for graduation caps.
JOHNSTON: We do a lot of beer. So –
HAGI: Devil's Backbone! Nice.
JOHNSTON: Yeah, we do all of their variety packaging. Our hands are faster than machines. … We've done four flavors, three each, we've done four flavors two each, which I believe this is. [smacks boxes]
I met Shannon Taylor, of Stuarts Draft, who's worked at Vector for more than two decades. His name tag noted he was employee of the month in May.
SHANNON TAYLOR: Yeah, that's special.
JOHNSTON: Why?
TAYLOR: Because you've got no, no disciplinary actions, and help other people.
JOHNSTON: No disciplinaries, and helping other people, being a good teammate! You've gotten it many times, though, haven't you?
TAYLOR: Yeah!
Johnston said Vector Industries phased out 14(c) seven or eight years ago, after leadership recognized that many of their workers could do any job in the plant.
JOHNSTON: What we didn't think about was Virginia's minimum wage increase … and I understand the motive behind it, but organizations like Vector and small businesses, it's hard.
Like others I spoke with, she believes 14(c), allowing certain employers to pay workers with disabilities a subminimum wage, did serve a valid role in the community.
JOHNSTON: Somebody who is the most significantly disabled, who could only do, say, five widgets to a non-disabled's hundred widgets, that certificate is super important for that person to have that purpose, to feel some pride at doing something, and get a paycheck at the end of the day. … While the certificate is not the right program for Vector, I do believe it has a purpose if it's done correctly.
Skip Philips with NW Works pointed out that people who find employment under 14(c) may have limited options based on where they live.
PHILIPS: All the commonwealth is not created equal. So the opportunities that exist in Richmond or in Hampton Roads or in northern Virginia or in the Roanoke Valley are different than … other places in the state.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that about 66% of the general population was employed in 2023. For people with a disability, that figure was just 23%. And while that low number partially reflects the fact that older people are more likely to have a disability than younger ones, those with a disability across all age groups were much less likely to be employed than their non-disabled peers.
Seth Whitten, deputy director of the disAbility Resource Center of the Rappahannock, said dismantling 14(c) doesn't move that needle.
SETH WHITTEN: I often see politicians and other folks want to pat themselves on the back and say, "yes, we fixed this! We're eliminating subminimum wages for people with disabilities." And that's great, and that's important, but what I want people to know is that doesn't fix the problem we have, and it doesn't move us closer to better employment outcomes for people with disabilities.
He said the next frontier is educating business leaders about the inexpensive and accessible accommodations that are out there – and allow employees with disabilities to excel.
