Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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FOH Field Operations Handbook
Chapter 64 Employment of Workers with Disabilities at Special Minimum Wages under Section 14(c)
Section 64b Coverage

Section 64b00: Introduction

• Workers with disabilities may be employed anywhere by a variety of employers. Examples of businesses in which INVs will most likely encounter 14(c) subminimum wage certificates include, among others:
  1. community rehabilitation programs (CRPs) and work centers (formerly known as sheltered workshops) which specialize in the employment of workers with disabilities and may also provide rehabilitation;
  2. hospitals and residential care facilities which may also employ their patients;
  3. for-profit business establishments (such as fast food establishments or grocery stores);
  4. contractors, including work centers described in (1) above, who provide services under the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA) or manufacture or supply goods under the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act (PCA); and
  5. State-operated vocational rehabilitation centers.
• As in any other kind of compliance action, the INV must first ascertain coverage - enterprise, individual, and/or PCA or SCA. Even when coverage has been established, the INV should be aware that not all of the activities performed at CRPs and work centers constitute an employment relationship and/or "hours worked" (see FOH 64e01).
• Although it is rare for workers who receive SMWs to work in excess of 40 hours in a week, their employment is covered under the overtime provisions of the FLSA, PCA, and/or the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA) where applicable.
• Minors with disabilities who are employed at SMWs must be employed in compliance with all child labor provisions.