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Section 14(c)
Section 14(c) of the FLSA states that with the approval of the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) certain employers can pay employees with disabilities below the minimum wage. In order for the subminimum wage to apply, the disability of the worker must directly affect his or her productivity in his or her given position. The employer must show that the work of an employee with a disability is less productive than the standard set for employees without disabilities. If approved by the WHD, the rate of pay for the worker with disability can correlate to their productivity in comparison to worker without disabilities. Every sixth months at a minimum, employers certified under Section 14(c) must review the special minimum wage of their hourly employees. Annually, Section 14(c) employers must also adjust the rate of pay workers receiving special minimum wages to remain comparable to that of employees without disabilities. These requirements of subminimum wage review by the employers were added to Section 14(c) through an 1986 amendment. The intention of the section is to enable higher employment for people with disabilities. The concern with enforcing minimum wage was that there would be a decrease in the job opportunities for workers with disabilities, so Section 14(c) is to be utilized only as needed to offset any opportunity loss.

The majority of Section 14(c) workers are employed through work centers, but these individuals also work through businesses, schools, and hospitals. As of 2001, 424,000 employees with disabilities were receiving the subminimum wages through 5,600 employers under Section 14(c). Employers paid over 50% of their workers with disabilities $2.50 per hour or less due to reduced productivity caused by a disability. There are several proposed bills that would repeal and eventually phase out Section 14(c) certifications such as H.R. 873 or H.R. 582 (Raise the Wage Act) which was passed by the House of Representatives in July of 2019.