The future of subminimum wages for PWD

By Mindy Ragan Wood/Editor

An Oklahoma legislative task force will explore a policy to end or limit subminimum wages to people with disabilities.

The Task Force of Rethinking Paying Subminimum Wages to Persons with Disabilities will examine a program authorized in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), known as 14(c) certificates. The certificates allow employers to pay according to the work that is performed rather than hourly minimum wage.

Sen. Julia Kirt and State Rep. Ellyn Hefner listened recently to a panel of self advocates, and experts including those who employ people with physical or intellectual disabilities in Oklahoma sheltered workshops. The program trains workers for competitive employment or employ those who cannot achieve work outside a supported work setting.

The U.S. Department of Labor has attempted to end the program, but announced in July 2025 that it lacked the authority to do so. Those attempts at the federal level to ban 14(c) prompted the two lawmakers to consider the impacts to people with disabilities in Oklahoma.

“I think it’s incredibly important that we think about people with disabilities and how we can make sure we’re proactive,” Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, said. “If we’re proactive, we’re not going to be so overwhelmed if there are dramatic federal changes and we can make sure we’re doing what’s best for our folks.”

Two reports from the National Council on Disabilities and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights recommend an end to subminimum wage work. Other organizations that represent the neurodivergent workforce oppose the end of 14(c) programs, such as The Coalition for the Preservation of Employment Choice.

Despite the intent of the Fair Labor Standards Act to integrate people with disabilities into the workforce, as a national trend only about two percent transition from subminimum wage to “competitive integrated employment (CIE),” said Kim Osmani, of the Institute on Employment and Disability at Cornell University.

While 16 states have ended or moved to phase out 14(c) employment, intended outcomes have not always materialized, Osmani said.

“We would love for it to lead to that CIE, but what it’s resulting in is many individuals with disabilities staying home, or many individuals with disabilities who are now going into activity centers, day centers or habilitation centers, focusing a lot on activities and social and living skills and not employment,” she said.

A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office examined trends in five states that fully banned 14(c). Of those, Colorado and Oregon were able to track only 1,000 people and less than half moved from subminimum wage to typical employment, Osmani noted. Up to 61% were not working and relied on Medicaid services like day shelters.

Both states had difficulty tracking people who no longer received Medicaid funded supports. The report speculates those former 14(c) workers not on Medicaid programs may or may not be working, retired, lost eligibility or died. Oregon specified only 17% “possibly” retired, while Colorado did not indicate a figure.

“We really need to see what’s happening,” Osmani said. “What are they doing? I think that’s the big question. Where do they want to be and how do we get them there?”

The panel discussed the need to encourage employers to consider hiring PWD and the use of support services, like work-based learning and internships as possible solutions to shift the trend away from subminimum wage employment.

Mark Kinnison, of Oklahoma Department of Vocational Rehabilitation Services, which provides employment services to PWD for employment, said there are significant concerns that higher wages will mean the loss of social security or support services.

“One of the things I think is a key to this success is benefits planning and how those benefits are impacted by employment,” he said.

Working people with disabilities can also face the loss of medical care benefits, said RoseAnn Duplan, policy analyst for Oklahoma Disability Law Center. While the state passed a law that allows PWD to access a “buy-in” Medicaid health insurance plan, it has never been funded, she said.

“We have a lot of people who are working and end up having to quit working because they are not able to afford their healthcare,” Duplan said.

Hefner said the task force will hear these and other concerns for two years as it hears from people with disabilities, caregivers, employers and professionals who serve the industry.

“It’s not an on and off switch,” Hefner, D-Oklahoma City, said of the 14(c) program. “Sometimes that happens with programs and we don’t want to do that.”

The task force will meet for its second time in March, at a date not yet disclosed, and will include information gathering and testimony from the public. Some future meetings may be virtual, Kirt said, but the panel hopes to conduct most meetings in person. She also said the task force plans to form working groups for a meeting in June based on the information gathering session in March.

Watch for updates to this story, including future meetings for the task force, at Oklahoma Divergent.

A full video of the meeting can be found here.