The full Illinois Senate passed a bill yesterday that ends the subminimum wage in the state.
The Illinois Senate Executive Committee passed the Dignity In Pay Act out of committee on Wednesday on a 9-3 vote with bipartisan support. The bill had previously passed the Illinois House at the end of the Spring Session.
The bill ends Illinois’s 14(c) certificate program, which allows some employers to pay people with disabilities less than the minimum wage. Though administered by the federal government, the General Assembly approved the outlawing the usage of the program.
The programs would be phased out, eventually ending December 31, 2029. To help ease the transition, the bill comes with a $2 million annual grant program administered by the Illinois Department of Human Services. A task force would provide annual progress reports on the plan’s implementation through January 1, 2030, and then provide updates on the employment of people with disabilities through January 1, 2035. The bill also requires that at least two current 14(c) certificate holders sit on the task force.
Despite the efforts to ease the transition, the bill’s opponents fear it could hurt the very people it’s intended to help. It could potentially put people with disabilities out of work as programs that employ them may not be able to afford to pay full minimum wage, which is set to rise to $15 per hour on January 1st.
“The Dignity in Pay Act is an unprecedented, crucial leap forward to a future where all individuals, regardless of ability, can maximize their talents and contributions to our workforce—and earn a fair wage,” Governor J.B. Pritzker said in a released statement last night after the bill’s passage.
Illinois has 61 programs currently receiving a federal exemption, according to the U.S. Department of Labor — down from 112 in 2018, according to Ryan Croke, a first assistant deputy governor, according to Capitol News Illinois.
The bill was opposed by local State Representatives C.D. Davidsmeyer and Mike Coffey. State Senator Jil Tracy says the bill in particular may hurt her family. She spoke during the committee hearing on Wednesday that her brother, who has a disability, works for a business shredding paper: “How in the world are they going to be able to pay minimum wage is my question? What happens if that shredding paper employment goes away?”
Lawmakers who voted against the bill praised its intentions, but say their concerns run too deep that it will hurt those with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the workforce by cutting their opportunities.