Federal Employee Rights for Workers with Disabilities paid at Special Minimum Wages Poster

WORKERS WITH 
DISABILITIES	
Subminimum wages under section 14(c) are not applicable unless a worker’s disability actually impairs the 
worker’s earning or productive capacity for the work being performed. The fact that a worker m\
ay have a 
disability is not in and of itself sufficient to warrant the payment of a subminimum wage.
For purposes of payment of commensurate wage rates under a certificate, \
a worker with a disability is defined 
as: An individual whose earnings or productive capacity is impaired by a physical or mental disability, including 
those related to age or injury, for the work to be performed.
Disabilities which may affect productive capacity include an intellectual or developmental disability, psychiatric 
disability, a hearing or visual impairment, and certain other impairments. The fol\
lowing do not ordinarily affect 
productive capacity for purposes of paying commensurate wage rates: educational disabilities; chronic 
unemployment; receipt of welfare benefits; nonattendance at school; juvenile delinquency; and correctional 
parole or probation.	
WORKER NOTIFICATION	Each worker with a disability and, where appropriate, the parent or guardian of such worker, shall be informed 
orally and in writing by the employer of the terms of the certificate under which such worker is employed.	
KEY ELEMENTS OF 
COMMENSURATE 	 	
WAGE RATES	
• 	Nondisabled worker standard	—The objective gauge (usually a time study of the production of workers 	
who do not have disabilities that impair their productivity for the job) against which the productivity of a 
worker with a disability is measured.	
• 	Prevailing wage rate	—The wage paid to experienced workers who do not have disabilities th\
at impair their 	
productivity for the same or similar work and who are performing such work in the area. Most SCA contracts 
include a wage determination specifying the prevailing wage rates to be paid for SCA-covered work.	
• 	Evaluation of the productivity of the worker with a disability	—Documented measurement of the 	
production of the worker with a disability (in terms of quantity and quality).	
The wages of all workers paid commensurate wages must be reviewed, and adjusted if appropriate, at periodic 
intervals. At a minimum, the productivity of hourly-paid workers must be reevaluated at least every six months 
and a new prevailing wage survey must be conducted at least once every twelve months\
. In addition, prevailing 
wages must be reviewed, and adjusted as appropriate, whenever there is a change in the job or a change in the 
prevailing wage rate, such as when the applicable state or federal minimum wage is increased.	
WIOA	The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 (WIOA) amended the Rehabilit\
ation Act by adding 
section 511, which places limitations on the payment of subminimum wages\
 to individuals with disabilities by 
mandating the completion of certain requirements prior to and during the payment of a subminimum wage.	
EXECUTIVE ORDER 
13658	
Executive Order 13658, Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors, established a minimum wage that 
generally must be paid to workers performing on or in connection with a covered contract with the Federal 
Government. Workers covered by this Executive Order and due the full Executive Order minimum wage include 
workers with disabilities whose wages are calculated pursuant to certificates issued under section 14(c) of th\
e 
FLSA.	
FRINGE BENEFITS	Neither the FLSA nor the PCA have provisions requiring vacation, holiday, or sick pay nor other fringe benefits 
such as health insurance or pension plans. SCA wage determinations may r\
equire such fringe benefit payments 
(or a cash equivalent). Workers paid under a certificate authorizing commensurate wage rates must\
 receive the 
full fringe benefits listed on the SCA wage determination.	
OVERTIME	Generally, if a worker is performing work subject to the FLSA, SCA, and/or PCA, t\
hat worker must be paid at 
least 1 1/2 times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.	
CHILD LABOR	Minors younger than 18 years of age must be employed in accordance with the child labor provisions of the 
FLSA. No persons under 16 years of age may be employed in manufacturing \
or on a PCA contract.	
PETITION PROCESS	Workers with disabilities paid at subminimum wages may petition the Administrator of the Wage and Hour 
Division of the Department of Labor for a review of their wage rates by an Administrative Law Judge. No 
particular form of petition is required, except that it must be signed by the worker with a disability or his\
 or her 
parent or guardian and should contain the name and address of the employer. Petitions should be mailed to: 
Administrator, Wage and Hour Division, U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-3502, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, D.C. 20210.	
EMPLOYEE RIGHTS 	
FOR WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES 	
PAID AT SUBMINIMUM WAGES	
1-866-487-9243	
TTY: 1-877-889-5627	
www.dol.gov/whd	
WH1284 REV 01/18	
WAGE AND HOUR DIVISION
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR	
This establishment has a certificate authorizing the payment of subminim\
um wages to workers who are disabled for the work they are performing. 
Authority to pay subminimum wages to workers with disabilities generally\
 applies to work covered by the 	Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)	, 	
McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA)	, and/or 	Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act (PCA)	. Such subminimum wages are referred to as 	
“commensurate wage rates” and are less than the basic hourly rates stated in an SCA wage determination a\
nd/or less than the FLSA minimum wage 
of 	$7.25 per hour	. A “commensurate wage rate” is based on the worker’s individual productivity, no matter how limited, in proportion to the wage and 	
productivity of experienced workers who do not have disabilities that impa\
ct their productivity when performing essentially the same type, quality, and 
quantity of work in the geographic area from which the labor force of the community is drawn.
Employers shall make this poster available and display it where employees and the parents and guardians of \
workers with disabilities can readily see it.