The Peculiar Institution of Subminimum Wage

Abstract

The notion that the labor of one particular segment of the nation’s workforce is of less worth or value has served to undermine the advancement of workers with disabilities to full inclusion in opportunities for employment. In 2014, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that only the employment rate for individuals with a disability had actually declined from 17.6 percent in 2013 to 17.1 percent in 2014 (United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014, p. 1). Further, even when employed, a significant portion of workers with disabilities labor in segregated workplaces for wages that became less and less likely a vehicle for self-sufficiency.

Men must sell and men must buy

Else an end to every nation;

But I see no reason why

We should suffer exploitation.¹