On March 28, 2016 in Madison, Wisconsin, Secretary Clinton publicly announced (video) that she supports equal wages for people with disabilities.
“We applaud Secretary Clinton for her public opposition to paying people with disabilities less than minimum wage,” said Barbara Trader, TASH’s Executive Director. “Today, we call upon every Presidential candidate to fight for and support policies that specifically seek to create independence for people with significant disabilities which include abolishing the heinous practices allowed under subminimum wage programs. For too long, companies and organizations have benefited financially on the backs of people with significant disabilities and it’s time for this to stop! We look forward to working with those candidates that will stand with us in this fight against discrimination.”
“When it comes to jobs, we’ve got to figure out how we get the minimum wage up and include people with disabilities in the minimum wage, said Secretary Clinton. “There should not be a tiered wage, and right now there is a tiered wage when it comes to facilities that do provide opportunities but not at a self-sufficient wage that enable people to gain a degree of independence as far as they can go. So I want us to take a hard look at raising the minimum wage and ending the tiered minimum wages, whether it’s for people with disabilities or the tipped wage which is a real outrage for working people…We’ve identified these differentials and I want to do away with those. When people talk about raising the minimum wage, they don’t always talk about the legal loopholes that we have in it and I want to get rid of those and I want to get rid of that for people with disabilities too.”
If elected President of the United States, Secretary Clinton also plans to enact the Keeping All Students Safe Act, which aligns with TASH’s goal to end the use of unnecessary and dangerous interventions, such as restraint and seclusion, in schools, treatment programs and residential facilities. Read more at stophurtingkids.com.