Saturday, May 21, 2011

Debating Federal Wage Law: Many Working for Less Than Minimum Wage


COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Thousands of adults with Down syndrome, autism and other developmental disabilities work in Ohio at jobs that pay less money than a teen-age baby sitter earns.
Some clean hotel rooms for 40 cents an hour. Others sew table linens for 79 cents an hour. Some assemble automotive parts for $2.15 an hour or answer telephones for $3.75 an hour.
The majority don't earn half of the state minimum wage of $7.40.
A little-known provision in the 73-year-old federal wage law allows employers to pay less than minimum wage if adults have disabilities that limit their productivity.

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