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AtWork! dumps subminimum wage jobs for clients with disabilities

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NEW — 6 p.m. Aug. 6, 2015

As of Jan. 1 of this year, the Washington state minimum wage became $9.47 per hour.

However, there are 40 organizations statewide authorized by the U.S. Department of Labor to pay subminimum wages. One of those organizations is Issaquah’s AtWork!, which helps put people with disabilities from all around the Seattle area into wage-earning jobs. Rules allow some workers with disabilities to be paid less than minimum wage based on their productivity.

As of the end of July, AtWork! officials were happy to announce, via press release, that it would no longer place any employee in a position that earns less than the state minimum wage.

“We believe that all workers have a basic right to integrated employment at a fair wage, including workers with disabilities,” Chris Brandt, AtWork! CEO, said in the news release. “How serendipitous that the 25th anniversary of the ADA coincides with AtWork!’s end to paying subminimum wages. We are proud and honored to celebrate these two momentous events.”

“Integrated employment” means people with disabilities working side-by-side with other workers, said Andrea Simmonds, AtWork! director of development. In some instances, AtWork! offers supported positions, whereby the AtWork! client receives guidance and help with their employment depending on the need.

Simmonds said supported workers can have someone with them constantly on the job or can have a visit from an AtWork! representative as needed.

In 2006, when Washington implemented the Working Age Adult policy, AtWork! had almost 200 people working in subminimum wage, sheltered-workshop and group-supported employment environments. Only 32 AtWork! adults were supported in a job working for a community business, despite AtWork! having been one of the earlier proponents of supported employment.

At the of the last fiscal year, less than 10 years later, AtWork! supported 208 people employed in the community earning an average of $11.75 an hour. By the end of July, the last three people served in a group model will have transitioned to community-based integrated opportunities.

All in all, Simmonds said, AtWork! has 275 clients, including the 208 working out in the community. She noted AtWork! does not subsidize those workers, but said they are out in the real world working real positions.

Because AtWork! officials feel strongly about supporting the minimum wage for all workers, AtWork! officials said in a press release they will not seek reauthorization of the federal endorsement allowing them to pay subminimum wages.

That authorization expires this month.

On July 22, AtWork! joined more than 1,000 other disability advocates at a rally in Westlake Park in downtown Seattle to celebrate 25 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“We had a huge number of people,” Simmonds said, adding it was great to see people with disabilities advocating for themselves.


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