So, I used to work in the disability services sector and the 14b argument is more complicated than most people want to admit.
I’ll use one guy I knew as an example. He loves work. He loves getting his paycheck. His idea of work? Assemble one widget in the morning and then talk to his friends for the rest of the day. He doesn’t give a shit that his paycheck is $2. This man would not be able to hold down a regular job without some paid full time to support him 1:1. So, if we eliminate all 14b facilities (and Goodwill is not alone in running these, in fact none are run by Goodwill in my area), what do we do with those individuals all day? They would end up sitting in their home all day unless we accompanied a 14b ban with a significant increase in funding for disability services. I do not believe that will happen. Politicians will ban 14b facilities and say “look, no more subminimum wages!” and leave it at that.
And I’ve had the conversation with many people. “Wouldn’t you rather have a regular job?” Very few say yes. They like the slow pace of the work and the ability to socialize. Those that do work at a high pace generally make minimum wage (the pay is set to be equal to minimum wage when they do work at a typical rate. They are paid by widget completed at a piece rate. The employer runs “time studies” with their staff to see what a reasonable amount of work is. If that’s 10 widgets per hour, you get paid 1/10th of minimum wage per widget). So, if the people with disabilities are telling me they like it, who am I to say they need to all find regular jobs?
Obviously there’s also an ethical question about the value of labor and what it means to “work”.
Edit: I hadn’t actually read that specific article. The allegation of not cleaning someone after an incontinence issue is entirely separate from the subminimum wage discussion because that’s something abuse happens to people with disabilities, unfortunately, regardless of setting. Does the worker making the video realize that her individuals have the choice to go to work each day? Also, she infantalizes them by calling adults “boys and girls,” a classic no no in disability services and a personal pet peeve. If she cares about them, she should have a conversation with them about their preferences, not post a video online for views.
I’m not sure why any of that justifies paying them less than an abled person would for doing the same job.
But that’s the thing, it’s not less. If a typical worker assembles 10 widgets an hour and the worker with a disability completes 3, they get paid 30%. Like I said, there’s an ethical question there about the value of labor and what work means, even what it means to be “typical,” since those workers have varying productivity. The original justification for 14b of the FLSA was the productivity thing. It just allows people who couldn’t typically hold jobs to get some sort of work. Many of the people in 14b settings could not hold a regular job. If 14b is banned, most employees will switch to other non-work activities, should the funding even exist for those.
That’s not how minimum wage is supposed to work. It’s a minimum for a reason. It doesn’t matter how much work you actually do.
