A thousand words
Dee O’Neill, a Tucson attorney, shows a picture of her daughter, Jennifer, 33, to the House Commerce Committee, which took testimony on H2318. The bill would exempt some disabled employees from the state’s new minimum-wage law. Jennifer, who has Down’s Syndrome, assembles drug-testing kits for the Beacon Group in Tucson.

The House Commerce Committee unanimously approved a bill to exempt members of the developmentally disabled community from the effects of a voter-approved ballot measure that created a state minimum wage of $6.75 an hour.
The move came after the nine-member committee heard two hours of testimony at the Capitol Jan. 31 from operators of handicapped work shelters, guardians of disabled children and adults, representatives of advocacy groups and disabled workers.
Voters approved Prop. 202 in November, opening a debate among advocates of the disabled. Some say the exemptions are necessary to employ workers with diminished capabilities, while others believe equal treatment of the developmentally disabled demands equal wages.
Proponents of H2318, sponsored by Rep. Michele Reagan, R-8, say the bill would simply restore the ability of substantially disabled Arizonans to work with dignity.
“They have two options,” said supporter Catherene Morton, before the standing-room only-committee hearing room. “They can go into the workforce with great difficulty, I’ll remind you, or stay at home and watch television.”
Parent: Higher wage could ‘doom’ disabled
To Morton, the mother of a severely retarded 38-year-old son, there should be “no debate” on the proposed measure. Without it, she said, many of the disabled are “doomed to a lifetime of TV watching and adult care.”
But other possible alternatives to the bill were voiced. Peri Jude Radecic, executive director of the Arizona Center for Disability Law, said vocational training for the developmentally disabled could be implemented — several times if necessary — for 18-month increments in order to provide the workers with necessary skills.
“I would urge you to hold on and vote no while we continue to work for a solution,” said Radecic, whose plan included extending additional state services to those who cannot acquire the necessary skills for employment.
Stanley Lubin, a labor law attorney who helped draft Prop. 202, opposed the bill. He said the Industrial Commission has the authority to make rules to alter the proposition because its definition of employee mimics federal legal language that contains exemptions.
He said he doubted H2318 would be constitutionally proper because state law requires that amendments to initiatives must further the intent of the law. He suggested Radecic’s plan and a yet to be filed alternative would shield employers of the disabled from minimum wage lawsuits.
“I encourage you to look at this bill as an alternative to 2318,” said Lubin, to the committee. “And it will be on your desk by the end of the week.”
That proposal drew the attention of Rep. Kirk Adams, R-19, who said he was unsure how H2318 would be unlawful, while enacting a law to protect employers that pay less than the standard wage would be legal.
“It seems to me the issue is control of the process and not the act,” said Adams.
Legislative Council says special wage won’t work
Hours after the meeting, the Legislative Council issued a memo that stated a legislative establishment of a special minimum wage for disabled workers “would probably be invalid.” The opinion came at the urging of Rep. Steve Gallardo, D-13, who served as chairman for the minimum wage increase campaign committee.
Lubin’s testimony also included information on the drafting of the proposition, which he said included the input of many advocacy groups for the handicapped.
When challenged by Rep. Bill Konopnicki, R-5, to reveal which groups were included, Lubin said, “I don’t know if many of the Arizona groups were included.”
Mike Vespoli, spokesman for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 99, told the Commerce Committee that labor, community and faith-based organizations were responsible for the initiative’s language.
A deliberate decision was made “not to exclude any type of employees,” including agricultural, tip-workers and the disabled, said Vespoli.
Prop. 202’s ballot committee primarily consisted of the Arizona AFL-CIO, ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) and the Arizona Interfaith Worker Justice.
At the meeting, several representatives of disabled advocacy groups in favor of Reagan’s proposal said they had voted for the initiative but were stunned to learn of its effects on the disabled community.
Dave Cutty, president of the Tempe Center for Habilitation, said that parents and disabled clients make a choice to work and the existing assertions by some that a law change would permit exploitation of the disabled is “patently false.”
“This is not, has never been and never will be about the money,” he said of the purpose of the work center, adding that the center’s 2006 operating budget was $1.2 million, leaving approximately $3,000.
Cutty has told several publications, including Arizona Capitol Times, that the wage increase has forced him to stop contracting work for approximately 75 workers, who have since been redirected into unpaid vocational training classes.
He has estimated the wage increase would add an additional $450,000 to the center’s annual costs. And though the Industrial Commission has urged employers like Cutty to temporarily pay the workers sub-minimum wages, he has resisted due to lawsuit fears.
Others at the meeting took exception Reagan’s proposal, arguing it as incomprehensive given the wide range of disabilities affecting Arizonans.
Paul Fuschini drove from Tucson to testify before the committee with his brother-in-law Dirk Tolleson, a 43-year-old man with Down’s syndrome.
Tolleson, who was clad in a flannel shirt, blue jeans and sporting a large glittering rodeo belt buckle, had sufficient skills to do more than menial tasks assigned to him by a particular Tucson shelter, as demonstrated by his winning of several horseback riding competitions in the Special Olympics.
“This is more of the same and that’s not good enough,” said Fuschini, who later told the Arizona Capitol Times that Tolleson’s job before the initiative’s passage was sorting medical records prior to shredding.
After the initiative took effect, Fuschini said his brother-in-law’s job had been delegated to vocational training, which consisted of distinguishing different sorts of pegs and inserting them into appropriate boards.
“He can do a lot more than that,” said Fuschini.
The sensitivity of the topic was evident when it came to casting votes. Reps. Konopnicki and Mark DeSimone, D-11, both said they had children with a disability, and Rep. Olivia Cajero Bedford, D-27, was visibly shaken while explaining her vote.
“My head tells me I shouldn’t mess with something the voters approve, but my heart tells me to vote yes,” said Cajero Bedford.