Regarding Bill HB3340: Subminimum Wage Phase-Out
information provided by New Star
CRETE, Ill. (April 2, 2019) – Dan Strick, President/CEO of New Star, will be the only local leader to speak this Wednesday, April 3, before the Illinois House Labor and Commerce Committee on Bill HB3340 – Subminimum Wage Phase-Out. New Star is a nonprofit agency that serves more than 650 individuals—including Lansing residents—with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The bill, sponsored locally by Rep. William Davis (D) 30th District and Rep. Thaddeus Jones (D) 29th District, will phase out a system that allows specific employers under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act section 14C to hire and pay certain individuals less than a minimum wage.
House Bill 3340, called the Illinois Dignity in Pay Act, would call for the Illinois Department of Human Services to implement a plan over the next five years to phase out subminimum wage procedures at 14C-licensed sheltered workshops.
New Star is one of the licensed workshops and Strick is for the change. State-wide passage of this bill would raise the wage rate for potentially 8,000 individuals.
“There has to be equity for all workers no matter their disability,” Strick said. “Individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities are not second-tier citizens and should not be subjected to a second class wage structure. We can’t continue to treat them that way.”
State Rep. Theresa Mah (D) 2nd District, is the bill’s lead sponsor.
Bill HB3340 – Subminimum Wage Phase-Out
101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB3340
Introduced by Rep. Theresa Mah
Amends the Department of Human Services Act. Contains a declaration of policy and intent. Requires the Department of Human Services, in partnership with specified State agencies, to develop and implement a plan to phase out, by July 1, 2024, authorizations under the Minimum Wage Law to pay an employee with a disability less than the minimum wage. Requires the Department to consult with specified organizations when implementing the phase-out plan.
Requires the Secretary of Human Services to submit reports to the Governor and the General Assembly on the benchmarks and status of achieving the outcomes included in the phase-out plan and recommendations for funding levels or other resources necessary to implement the phase-out plan. Amends the Department of Labor Law. Prohibits the Director of Labor from authorizing a work activities center or other sheltered workshop to pay an employee who has a disability less than the minimum wage unless certain requirements are met.
Amends the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities Law. Requires the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities to commission an independent study of the phase-out plan; determine whether the plans are having their intended effects; and make recommendations for possible changes in State law or policy regarding the employment of individuals with disabilities. Requires the Council to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by July 1, 2023.
Amends the Minimum Wage Law. Provides that the State of Illinois shall not fund any entity that pays individuals less than the minimum wage under a certificate issued by the United States Department of Labor that authorizes Community Rehabilitation Programs to pay individuals less than the wage otherwise required for the individuals under federal law. Effective immediately, except that the provisions amending the Minimum Wage Law take effect July 1, 2024.
