Owners and operators of handicapped work shelters are breathing easier now that legislation shielding them from minimum wage-related lawsuits has been signed into law.
The bill, H2245, frees work centers that employ the developmentally disabled from potential lawsuits if they rely on policies enacted by the Industrial Commission that allow paying disabled workers below the across-the-board $6.75 minimum wage established in November by the passage of Prop. 202.
“We’re very relieved and very pleased that it was passed unanimously and signed by the governor,” said Vicki Kringen, a chief financial officer and vice president of the Tempe Center for Habilitation, which contracts work for the disabled. “Obviously everybody recognized the need for the sub-minimum wage rules put in place by the Industrial Commission.”
It is not exactly clear if proponents of Prop. 202 intended to make sure disabled workers were paid at least the minimum wage or if the workers, whom many feared employers would be unable to afford to pay, were unintended casualties of the union-sponsored initiative.
Either way, the proposition opened debate among advocates of the disabled. Some claimed exemptions from the minimum wage were necessary to employ workers with diminished capabilities, and others stated equal treatment of the developmentally disabled demands equal wages.
Earlier legislation to allow a wage exemption for the disabled stalled after a sometimes tense debate in the House Commerce Committee in late January.
That measure, H2318 by Michele Reagan, R-8, passed unanimously, but its further progress halted after Legislative Council declared it was “probably invalid” due to requirements set by the Voter Protection Act.
The act, passed by Arizona voters in 1998, requires a legislative supermajority to amend voter initiatives, and necessitates that changes further voter intentions.
Legislators heard testimony on H2318 from supporters who argued that the legislation helped the disabled, particularly those with more severe disabilities, to lead dignified lives and interact with their peers.
Others were not so sure, stating that they believed a clear wage exemption added an element of exploitation to those repeatedly given menial tasks below their capabilities or skill sets.
Kringen said she is satisfied with the compromise for new legal protections from minimum wage related lawsuits for now, but more “solid solutions” should be implemented.
“We’ll continue to advocate for the sub-minimum wage in order to provide good job opportunities for people with disabilities,” she said.