THE FACTS

The subminimum wage was essentially created so that employers could pay certain employees below their state's mandated minimum wage.

Employment of Workers with Disabilities: Section 14(c) of the FLSA allows employers who have received a special certificate from the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division to pay wages less than the federal minimum wage to workers such as: students, this with physical or mental disabilities, and employees receiving certain figures in tips.

"Out of the small population of people with disabilities who are hired, many receive sub-minimum wages," Forbes has explained.

"In recent years, there have been reports of an estimated 420,000 individuals with disabilities who have been paid an average of just 2.15 dollars per hour."

Other states are making progress and will soon join the above list, with states such as Virginia, Connecticut, New York and New Hampshire far along this journey.

Meanwhile, the states of Arizona, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, California, Indiana, Mississippi and Nebraska are also in the early stages of eliminating certain sections of the law on subminimum wage.

A number of states have now passed into law an elimination of subminimum wages for disabled people and they are:

• Alaska
• California
• Colorado
• Delaware
• Hawaii
• Maine
• Maryland
• New Hampshire
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Washington

Note: Prior to 2023, the following states passed legislation to eliminate subminimum wages for people with disabilities: Alaska, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Colorado, California, Delaware, Tennessee, South Carolina & Rhode Island.