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Assemblymember Phillip G. Steck at a press conference over a proposal to end the state's federal subminimum wage for people with disabilities, Mar. 3, 2025.
State Sen. James Skoufis and Assemblymember Phillip G. Steck at a press conference over a proposal to end the state's federal subminimum wage for people with disabilities, Mar. 3, 2025.
Assemblymember Phillip G. Steck at a press conference over a proposal to end the state's federal subminimum wage for people with disabilities, Mar. 3, 2025.
State Sen. James Skoufis and Assemblymember Phillip G. Steck at a press conference over a proposal to end the state's federal subminimum wage for people with disabilities, Mar. 3, 2025.
More than 1,400 disabled workers in New York earn less than minimum wage, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
It’s legal. And it’s been that way since Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president.
State Assemblymember Phillip G. Steck doesn’t believe it should stay that way.
“There's really nothing essential out there that is done at a subminimum wage,” the Colonie Democrat said. “It's all things — some undesirable task really — that some company is allowed to take advantage of people with disabilities to do it and that's what we're trying to eliminate.”
New York state lawmakers have in the past attempted to end the practice in lockstep with more than 10 other states. Different versions of Steck's bill to end the subminimum wage have been introduced since 2019.
Steck believes that having Assemblymember Angelo Santabarbara as chair of the Standing Committee on People with Disabilities could make a difference. He’s also one of the bill's co-sponsors.
The Rotterdam Democrat is supportive of banning the practice on the condition that individuals aren’t displaced in the workforce. In Santabarbara’s view, this will require tax incentives for businesses to hire disabled workers and additional workforce-development investments to ensure a smooth transition into mainstream employment.
Available under the current policy are so-called sheltered workshop jobs that pay pennies on the dollar for each hour of work. Typically, this involves menial factory-style work, like packaging or making widgets while isolated from the workforce.
For Alex Thompson, advocacy director for the New York Association on Independent Living, it’s out of touch with the current vocational landscape.
“These are things that could be replaced by machines already,” Thompson said. “They're not essential jobs. I think there is probably more rewarding employment that could be found.”
At the tail of the Biden Administration, the U.S. Department of Labor proposed phasing out the old-timey wage policy, deeming it no longer necessary to prevent people with disabilities from losing employment opportunities. Nothing materialized.
For its time of inception — 1938 — the subminimum wage’s inclusion in the Fair Labor Standards Act was progressive, according to Max Rodriguez, manager of governmental affairs for the Center for Disability Rights.
At the time, it was more common for members of the community to be cast out from education and sent away to inpatient institutions for a lifetime. The concept of maintaining employment with a disability was considered far less reachable.
“Something that was progressive 100 years ago most likely isn’t a progressive thing in 2025,” said Rodriguez, who supports a ban.
Legislation against the old system currently has bicameral, bipartisan backing from 42 lawmakers. It’s currently awaiting consideration in the state Senate and Assembly labor committees.
Tyler A. McNeil can be reached at 518-395-3047 or tmcneil@dailygazette.net. Follow him on Facebook at Tyler A. McNeil, Daily Gazette or X @TylerAMcNeil.
