II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2001 

To phase out special wage certificates under section 14(c) of the Fair Labor 

Standards Act of 1938 that allow individuals with disabilities to be 

paid at subminimum wage rates. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 5, 2015 

Ms. AYOTTE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To phase out special wage certificates under section 14(c) 

of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 that allow 

individuals with disabilities to be paid at subminimum 

wage rates. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transitioning to Inte5 grated and Meaningful Employment Act’’ or ‘‘TIME Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards 

2 Act (referred to in this section as ‘‘Section 14(c)’’) 

3 (29 U.S.C. 214(c)) allows the Secretary of Labor to 

4 grant special wage certificates to certain entities, al5 lowing such entities to pay individuals with disabil6 ities subminimum wages. 

7 (2) Advancements in vocational rehabilitation, 

8 technology, and training provide workers with dis9 abilities with greater opportunities than in the 

10 1930s, when Section 14(c) was passed. When pro11 vided the proper rehabilitation services, training, 

12 tools, and expectations, employees with disabilities 

13 can be as productive as nondisabled employees. 

14 (3) The Office of Disability Employment Policy 

15 of the Department of Labor continues to support the 

16 development and implementation of new innovative 

17 tools and strategies, like Customized Employment 

18 and the Discovery process, that have resulted in the 

19 successful training and employment of individuals 

20 with significant disabilities, allowing them to obtain 

21 competitive integrated employment. 

22 (4) In August of 2012, the National Council on 

23 Disability (referred to in this section as the 

24 ‘‘NCD’’), an independent Federal agency tasked 

25 with making recommendations to the President 


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1 about disability-related policy matters, released its 

2 report on subminimum wage and supported employ3 ment. The NCD unanimously recommended that the 

4 Department of Labor immediately stop issuing new 

5 special wage certificates. In addition, NCD rec6 ommended that the ‘‘Section 14(c) program be 

7 phased out.’’. 

8 (5) Programs, such as the Vermont Conversion 

9 Institute, exist to help entities holding Section 14(c) 

10 certificates transition their business models in order 

11 to ensure integrated, meaningful employment that 

12 provides compensation of at least the Federal min13 imum wage for all of their employees. Vermont does 

14 not have any Section 14(c) certificate holders in the 

15 State. Twenty-two States were represented at the 

16 seventh Conversion Institute forum in 2013, where 

17 entities holding Section 14(c) certificates learned 

18 strategies from others that had already transitioned 

19 their businesses, in order to seamlessly make the 

20 change themselves. 

21 (6) As of May 2015, no Section 14(c) certifi22 cates are held by any entity in the State of New 

23 Hampshire. By using innovative strategies, the 3 en24 tities that held Section 14(c) certificates in 2013 

25 transitioned their business models to ensure that all 


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1 employees are meeting their full vocational potential, 

2 proving that transition is possible and that Section 

3 14(c) certificates are unnecessary. 

4 SEC. 3. TRANSITION TO FAIR WAGES. 

5 (a) DISCONTINUANCE.—During the period beginning 

6 on the date of enactment of this Act and ending on the 

7 date that is 3 years after such date of enactment, the Sec8 retary of Labor shall not issue any special wage certificate 

9 under section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 

10 1938 (29 U.S.C. 214(c)) to any entity unless the issuance 

11 is a renewal of a special wage certificate previously issued 

12 to the entity. 

13 (b) TRANSITION.—Any special wage certificate issued 

14 or renewed under section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Stand15 ards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 214(c)) shall be void as of 

16 the date that is 3 years after the date of enactment of 

17 this Act. 

18 (c) REPEAL.—Effective on the date that is 3 years 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, section 14(c) of 

20 the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 214(c)) 

21 is repealed. 

Æ 


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