What's happening
This bill removes the subminimum wage exemption for employees with disabilities, ensuring they receive at least minimum wage in New York.
Why it matters
Eliminating the subminimum wage for people with disabilities addresses longstanding concerns about employment discrimination and economic inequality. By requiring that disabled workers are paid at least the minimum wage, the bill promotes greater financial independence and dignity for a population that has historically been undervalued in the workforce.
Organizations and businesses that previously relied on paying subminimum wages to disabled employees will need to adjust their budgets and staffing practices. This may require increased investment in training, support, or job accommodations, but it could also foster more inclusive and equitable workplaces.
The legislation may encourage broader societal shifts in how the capabilities and contributions of people with disabilities are perceived. By ending the legal basis for paying less than minimum wage, New York sends a message that all workers, regardless of disability, deserve equal pay for equal work, which could have ripple effects in other states and at the federal level.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Equal Minimum Wage for Disabled
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
24 Co-sponsors
- Jo Anne Simon
- Carmen De La Rosa
- Ellen C. Jaffee
- Joe DeStefano
- Walter T. Mosley
- Vivian Cook
- Steve Stern
- Anthony D'Urso
- Steven Englebright
- Alicia Hyndman
- Michael G. Miller
- Angelo Santabarbara
- Charles Barron
- Jose Rivera
- William Colton
- Richard Gottfried
- Inez E. Dickens
- Catalina Cruz
- David Weprin
- Mathylde Frontus
- Rebecca Seawright
- Yuh-Line Niou
- Melissa Miller
- Jonathan Jacobson
History
- Referred to codes
- Reported referred to codes
- Print number 7077a
- Amend and recommit to labor
- Referred to labor
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
End Subminimum Wage Disability
In Senate Committee · Labor · Sponsor James Skoufis
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7077--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 4, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. STECK, SIMON, DE LA ROSA, JAFFEE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to the minimum wage for employees with disabilities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The opening paragraph of subdivision 5 of section 651 of the labor law, as amended by chapter 503 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows:
"Employee" includes any individual employed or permitted to work by an employer in any occupation, but shall not include any individual who is employed or permitted to work: (a) on a casual basis in service as a part time baby sitter in the home of the employer; (b) in labor on a farm; (c) in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity; (d) as an outside salesman; (e) as a driver engaged in operating a taxicab; (f) as a volunteer, learner or apprentice by a corporation, unincorporated association, community chest, fund or foundation organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable or educational purposes, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual; (g) as a member of a religious order, or as a duly ordained, commissioned or licensed minister, priest or rabbi, or as a sexton, or as a christian science reader; (h) in or for such a religious or charitable institution, which work is incidental to or in return for charitable aid conferred upon such individual and not under any express contract of hire; (i) in or for such a religious, educational or charitable institution if such individual is a student; (j) [in or for such a religious, educational or charitable institution if the earning capacity of such individual is impaired by age or by physical or mental deficiency or injury; (k)] in or for a
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04315-06-9
A. 7077--A 2
summer camp or conference of such a religious, educational or charitable institution for not more than three months annually; [(l)] (k) as a staff counselor in a children's camp; [(m)] (l) in or for a college or university fraternity, sorority, student association or faculty association, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, and which is recognized by such college or university, if such individual is a student; [(n)] (m) by a federal, state or municipal government or political subdivision thereof; [(o)] (n) as a volunteer at a recreational or amusement event run by a business that operates such events, provided that no single such event lasts longer than eight consecutive days and no more than one such event concerning substantially the same subject matter occurs in any calendar year, where (1) any such volunteer shall be at least eighteen years of age, (2) a business seeking coverage under this paragraph shall notify every volunteer in writing, in language acceptable to the commissioner, that by volunteering his or her services, such volunteer is waiving his or her right to receive the minimum wage pursuant to this article, and (3) such notice shall be signed and dated by a representative of the business and the volunteer and kept on file by the business for thirtysix months; or [(p)] (o) in the delivery of newspapers or shopping news to the consumer by a person who is not performing commercial goods transportation services for a commercial goods transportation contractor within the meaning of article twenty-five-C of this chapter. The exclusions from the term "employee" contained in this subdivision shall be as defined by regulations of the commissioner.
§ 2. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 5 of section 655 of the labor law, as amended by chapter 747 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
(c) The wage board may also recommend, to the extent necessary in order to prevent curtailment of opportunities for employment, regulations for (1) the employment of learners and apprentices, under special certificates issued by the commissioner, at such wages lower than the minimum wage established by this article and subject to such limitations as to time, number, proportion and length of service as shall be prescribed in such regulation, (2) [the employment of individuals whose earning capacity is affected or impaired by youth or age or by physical or mental deficiency or injury, under special certificates issued by the commissioner, at such wages lower than the minimum wage established by this article and for such period as shall be prescribed in such regulation, (3)] the establishment of a period not extending beyond seventeen consecutive weeks during which a resort hotel or camp may employ students under special certificates issued by the commissioner, at such wages lower than the minimum wage established by this article as shall be prescribed in such regulation, and [(4)] (3) the employment of residential employees in a non-profit making religious, charitable or educational organization or in a non-profit making college or university sorority or fraternity under special certificates issued by the commissioner at such weekly wage as shall be prescribed in such regulation.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the thirty-first of December next succeeding the date upon which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation by the department of labor necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.