Written Testimony in Favor of H.B.225 — Subminimum Wage Certificates

Summary

Written testimony in favor of H.B.225 addressed to Chairman Johnson, Vice Chair Lear, and Ranking Member Mcnally, with no signer's name printed. The writer states being blind and never forced to work for subminimum wages, but having worked with those who have. It states that sheltered shop administrators and those who run other manufacturing programs use certificates of exemption from paying the minimum wage to increase their income. It says that in states that have stopped using subminimum wage certificates, parents are pleased to discover that their kids can compete, and that Ohio should not allow employers to run competitive shops on the backs of disabled workers.

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Full text

Dear Chairman Johnson, Vice Chair Lear, Ranking Member Mcnally

Thank you for the opportunity to present written testimony in favor of H.B.225. I am blind,
and, though I have never been forced to work for subminimum wages, I have worked with
those who have, and a number of my friends have experienced this demeaning work.
Sheltered shop administrators and those who run other manufacturing programs largely
intended to employ disabled workers use their Section 14 (c) certificates of exemption
from paying the minimum wage to increase their income. I assure you that the blind
workers I know frequently out-produce the able bodied workers brought in when they are
needed to complete a job on time. Frequently they are required to train the new workers
who are earning minimum wage or above. This is a very discouraging situation for the
disabled workers.



Parents of disabled workers are often afraid that their kids cannot work competitively, but
in the states that have already stopped using the subminimum wage certificates this has
not been the case, and parents are pleased to discover that their kids really can compete.
Rhode Island was, I believe, the first state to discover this fact, and now pays disabled
workers at least the minimum wage statewide.



Often when disabled workers cannot work competitively, it is because they have not been
matched with jobs that they can actually do. A blind friend of mine ran a workshop where
he found a woman with CP which forced her to work sitting down. She was struggling to
work with heavy rubber mats that she could not lift easily from a seated position. He took
her out of that job and allowed her to conduct an answering service where she answered
phones and took messages. She was able to establish her own business once she was
given work that she could do efficiently.



Disabled people deserve a chance to demonstrate their capacity and earn above the
minimum wage. Ohio should not be allowing employers to run competitive shops on the
backs of and funded by their disabled workers,.


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