Helping the Disabled

For John, BLUF:  It seems the US Commission on Civil Rights is having trouble seeing the individual trees for seeing the forest.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Dissenting Statement and Rebuttal of Commissioner Gail L. Heriot in Report of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights: Subminimum Wages:  Impact on the Civil Rights of People with Disabilities.

From San Diego Legal Studies (Paper No. 20-468) (7 Pages), by Professor Gail L. Heriot, 17 September 2020.

The Abstract:

On September 17, 2020, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released a report entitled Subminimum Wages:  Impact on the Civil Rights of People with Disabilities.  This Dissenting Statement and Rebuttal by Commissioner Gail L. Heriot was a part of that report.

The Commission concluded that Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act somehow violates the rights of individuals with Down Syndrome or similar intellectual or developmental disabilities, because it allows them to take certain specially regulated jobs at less than minimum wage.

Commissioner Heriot dissented from the Commission’s conclusion.  According to her dissent, Section 14(c) provides such individuals with jobs that they would not otherwise have; eliminating 14(c) programs will mean fewer jobs.  The parents of these individuals understand this.  That’s why the Commission was deluged by them with comments supporting 14(c) programs.  The Commission largely ignored those comments.

Keywords:  Minimum Wage, Subminimum Wage, Down syndrome, Fair Labor Standards Act, Commission On Civil Rights, Section 14(c).

As this is about a legal issue, I will just say Res ipsa loquitur.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff