South Carolina Ends Subminimum Wage For Workers With Disabilities

South Carolina is passing legislation to ensure workers with disabilities can no longer legally be paid subminimum wage. Under a loophole in federal law, workers with disabilities countrywide can be paid less than minimum wage if they work for certain companies. Bill S.533, signed into law by Gov. Henry McMaster, will set-up a task force responsible for devising a transition plan to ensure workers with disabilities are paid at least minimum wage by August 1st 2024. The task force will feature qualified members such as, people from nonprofit organizations and directors from relevant state departments.

“No one in our state should be paid less than the minimum wage,” said Sen. Katrina Shealy (R-Lexington) who sponsored the bill. “Our state needs to get on board with this. It should be equal; if you work in South Carolina, you should be paid at least minimum wage.” Around 1,200 workers in South Carolina are currently paid less than federal hourly minimum wage, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Employers are legally able to pay people with disabilities under $7.25 per hour if they’re considered unable to do a job as well as workers without disabilities (as per the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938). “Some are making $1.25 an hour, some are making less than $1 and pennies an hour,” said Kimberly Tissot, President and CEO of Able South Carolina. Although people with disabilities largely don’t have basic minimum wage rights, they aren’t completely unprotected. For example, if people with disabilities sustain an injury on the job, they may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. By consulting a law firm that specializes in workers compensation, injured workers can increase their chances of securing the financial protection they deserve.

Under the new law, “individuals whose earning or productive capacity is impaired by age, physical or mental deficiency, or injury” will no longer be able to be paid subminimum wage. “In 2022, our approach to employment for people with disabilities should not be the same as it was in the 1930s,” said Tissot. “Our society has changed, and people with disabilities have adapted and innovated. Thirteen other states have recognized this fact, Tennessee being the most recent. We can work just as well as anyone else, and we deserve to be paid equally for it.”

“Subminimum wage has been a very painful topic for the disability community for so many years,” said Tissot. “Because when you’re paying less than what everybody else makes, because of who you are, as a person with disabilities, it impacts your whole self, as well as the entire disability community”. With Able South Carolina, Tissot also plans on encouraging state agencies to adopt inclusive hiring practices to create a more diverse and equitable workplace. “We’re just thrilled to see this, to see this move forward. In my eyes, it’s lasted 80 plus years too long.”