Americans with Disabilities Act 25th Anniversary Timeline - Disability & Employment

Fair Labor Standards Act Section 14(c)

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6/25/1938

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes a national minimum wage. Through Section 14(c), it also allows employers, after receiving a certificate from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, to pay subminimum wages to workers who have disabilities for the work being performed. At the time, the floor is set at 75 percent of the national minimum wage. In 1966, it is lowered to 50 percent. However, it does not apply in “work activity centers,” also known as sheltered workshops, resulting in segregated work environments for many people with disabilities. In 1986, the floor is eliminated altogether. Rather, workers are to be paid wages commensurate with their productivity based on prevailing wages.

Contemporary photo of a sheltered workshop employee, c. 1966. — The Denver Post