What is the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act (TCIEA)?
*Be sure to check out our House Action Alert and Senate Action Alert about TCIEA as well!
The Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act (TCIEA) is a bill. A bill is an idea someone in government has for a law. A bill is not yet a law and it can be changed. If TCIEA becomes a law, it will help some workers with disabilities get better jobs.
If TCEIA becomes a law, it will help disabled workers get better jobs in the community. TCEIA will end the 14(c) program over time. The 14(c) program comes from Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Fair Labor Standards Act is a law passed in 1938. Section 14(c) lets some companies pay disabled people less than the minimum wage. Minimum wage is the least amount of money an employer can pay a worker for one hour of work. When someone is paid less than minimum wage, it is called subminimum wage. Companies with 14(c) certificates can pay subminimum wage to people with disabilities.
Example: Mark has an intellectual disability. He works four hours a day, five days a week in a factory that makes clothes. Mark and his co-workers without disabilities all do the same job. Mark and his co-workers without disabilities all have similar training, experience, and skills. Mark’s co-workers without disabilities make 8 dollars an hour for their work. Mark makes 3 dollars an hour for his work. Mark is making subminimum wage.
Most companies with 14(c) certificates keep disabled workers away from nondisabled workers. This is called segregation. Workplaces segregate disabled workers using sheltered workshops or enclaves. Sheltered workshops keep people with disabilities apart from the rest of the community. Enclaves happen when disabled people are in the same space as nondisabled people, but are still separated. Employers with 14(c) certificates often run sheltered workshops or enclaves.
Example: Beth is deaf and has a developmental disability. She works 3 days a week making car parts. All of Beth’s co-workers are also disabled. Beth’s boss is not disabled. Beth’s job is segregated.
Example: Joe and his friends all have Down Syndrome. They are all janitors at the local public elementary school. When classes are going on, they go around the school and clean. They also clean the classrooms after school is over. Joe’s job is an enclave.
We need TCIEA because it ends segregated, subminimum wage jobs for disabled people over time. Before TCIEA becomes a law, Congress will have to decide if TCIEA should end 14(c) in 5 or 4 years. Congress is part of the federal government that makes laws. There are 2 parts of Congress: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each part of Congress has its own version of TCIEA. The Senate version of TCIEA is S.533. The House version of TCIEA is H.R.1263. S.533 and H.R.1263 propose different deadlines for ending 14(c). S.533 would end 14(c) in 5 years. H.R.1263 would end 14(c) in 4 years.
Once TCIEA’s deadline ends, companies with 14(c) certificates would have to stop doing many things:
- Companies cannot pay disabled workers less than minimum wage.
- Companies cannot pay disabled workers less than non-disabled workers doing the same job.
- Companies cannot segregate disabled workers.
- Companies that never had a 14(c) certificate cannot get a new 14(c) certificate.
- That means new companies cannot start segregating disabled workers. Companies also cannot start paying disabled people subminimum wage. And companies cannot start paying disabled people less than nondisabled workers doing the same job.
TCIEA would help states and businesses give disabled people jobs that are much better than 14(c) jobs. These better jobs are called “competitive integrated employment” (CIE). A job has to follow certain rules to be a CIE job:
- The job has to treat disabled workers the same as non-disabled workers.
- The job has to give fair pay to disabled workers. Fair pay means that workers make at least minimum wage. Fair pay also means that disabled workers get paid the same amount of money as nondisabled workers doing the same job.
- The job has to give disabled workers the same chance to improve their careers as nondisabled workers doing similar jobs. Some things that can help a worker improve their career are being promoted to a higher-level position and getting training to learn new skills.
- The job has to let disabled workers work with non-disabled workers. Many disabled people do not get to work with non-disabled people. Or, if they do work together, non-disabled people are the bosses for disabled people. CIE jobs have to let disabled people work with both disabled and nondisabled people. In CIE, some of the nondisabled workers do the same job as the disabled workers.
- The job has to let disabled workers access the same job benefits as nondisabled workers. Job benefits are help that companies give their workers. Job benefits are things like health care, paid time off, and holidays.
Example: Sally works in a fast-food restaurant on weekday afternoons. She started out making the salads. Now, her non-disabled co-worker is teaching her how to use the fryer. A job coach helps Sally set up his work station each day and keeps him on task. Sally makes the same amount of money as all of her nondisabled coworkers. Sally has competitive integrated employment.
TCIEA would provide $200 million over five years in the Senate bill and four years in the House bill. This money would go to a CIE technical assistance center and to three CIE grants.
A technical assistance center is a place where people can get information and training about how to do something. TCIEA’s technical assistance would teach 14(c) employers how to provide CIE instead of 14(c). This technical assistance would teach states and businesses how to help disabled people switch from working at 14(c) jobs to working at CIE.
TCIEA would also give states and business money (called grants) to help 14(c) employers switch to CIE. There are three types of grants.
- One type of grant gives money to states where there are employers with 14(c) certificates. States can use this money to increase CIE in their state.
- States who apply to get these grants must describe how the money will help disabled workers who need extra help to keep a job.
- After a state uses the state grant, the state can apply for another grant. This second grant helps states give supported employment services to disabled people who need extra help to keep a job.
- Some disabled workers need supported employment to do CIE. Supported employment is a way to get extra help at work. The services disabled workers can access through supported employment help disabled workers do their jobs. Giving disabled workers the support services we need costs less money than sheltered workshops.
- Example: Adela has a mental health disability. Adela’s disability makes it very hard for her to find and keep a job. She has never worked for more than 3 months at a time in a sheltered workshop. Adela works with a supported employment worker at her state’s Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agency. Adela tells the VR worker she is good at growing plants in her garden. The VR worker helps Adela look for jobs that involve growing things. The VR worker goes with Adela to job interviews and helps her ask questions to find a job that works for her. Once Adela gets a job at a community-based garden center, she works with a job coach who helps her learn how to do her job. Adela is paid at least minimum wage.
- Some disabled workers need supported employment to do CIE. Supported employment is a way to get extra help at work. The services disabled workers can access through supported employment help disabled workers do their jobs. Giving disabled workers the support services we need costs less money than sheltered workshops.
- The third type of grant is for employers in states that did not get the other two kinds of grants.
- Example: Let’s say that Massachusetts did not get a grant. There is a company called ABC LLC in Massachusetts that wants money to transition to make CIE jobs. ABC LLC can apply for the third type of grant, even if Massachusetts did not get other grant money.
TCIEA makes something called an advisory council. The advisory council’s job is to help make sure TCIEA does what it is supposed to do. 1 out of every 4 people on the advisory council must be people with disabilities. TCIEA also says that the U.S. government must check to see how the law is being followed. This way, the U.S. government can tell which states and businesses are getting better, and which need more help.
When disabled people get good CIE jobs, we can make the money we need to earn more money and be more independent. We deserve better job skills and better support services, We also deserve more chances to be an active part of both the workforce and our community. TCIEA would help to make that happen.
ASAN co-wrote and signed onto three separate letters from three separate groups about TCIEA: The End Subminimum Wage Coalition, Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities (CCD), and Collaboration to Promote Self-Determination (CPSD). You can read the letters here.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about TCIEA
Would TCIEA force employers with 14(c) certificates to shut down their businesses?
No. If TCIEA passes, employers who once had 14(c) certificates can get money and help from the government to turn segregated, subminimum wage jobs into competitive integrated employment (CIE). Employers can keep running their businesses, employ people with disabilities, and get Medicaid funding for job coaching and other support that their workers need.
Will getting rid of subminimum wage make it harder for disabled people to get jobs?
No, getting rid of subminimum wage will not make it harder for disabled people to get jobs. We know this because even though the number of employers paying subminimum wage went down between 2010 and 2019, the number of disabled people who have jobs did not go down. More disabled people are employed now than at any time before.,
Seventeen states have either already gotten rid of subminimum wage for workers with disabilities or are working on getting rid of it. The number of people with disabilities who are employed in these states keeps going up. For example: Alaska, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Vermont phased out subminimum wage and transitioned to competitive integrated employment. All of those states showed higher employment rates for working-age disabled people after they got rid of segregated workplaces and subminimum wage. People with cognitive disabilities experienced bigger increases in employment rates than people with other kinds of disabilities or no disabilities. For example: Maryland got rid of segregated workplaces and subminimum wage between 2016 and 2022. During that time, disability employment increased by seven percent and employment for people with cognitive disabilities increased by 10 percent.
How will TCIEA make sure that people with higher support needs can transition to CIE?
TCIEA has specific rules that help people with higher support needs. TCIEA calls this population “people with significant disabilities”. States and organizations that apply to the TCIEA State Grant Program have to say how the money they get will be used to help people with higher support needs. States and organizations that apply to the TCIEA State Grant Program also have to pay special attention to meeting the needs of people with higher support needs. If a state does everything they’re supposed to with the grant money it gets from TCIEA, the state can apply to get even more money to help people with the highest support needs transition to CIE.
If TCIEA passes, will current 14(c) employees lose their benefits?
Many programs that help disabled people will not allow them to earn or save more than a certain amount of money. This is called an income limit and an asset limit. Some people are concerned that if TCIEA passes and disabled workers make more money, they won’t be able to use the programs that help them because they will go over the income or asset limit. There are many ways to solve this with existing programs.
There are several programs that can help disabled people keep their benefits while working, including ABLE Accounts, Medicaid “buy-in” programs, and programs within Social Security, such as Ticket to Work, Earned Income Exclusion, and Work Incentives and Planning Assistance (WIPA).,
ABLE accounts are savings accounts that allow disabled people to save money without it counting toward the income and asset limits for SSI, Medicaid, SNAP, and other government assistance programs. Unfortunately, 93% of disabled people are unfamiliar with ABLE accounts. TCIEA would require states to share more educational information about ABLE accounts so more people can learn about them and sign up.
Medicaid “buy-in” programs allow disabled workers to get home and community based services that they can’t get through their other insurance coverage. Sometimes, disabled people pay money to get those services. The money they pay for those services is called a premium. Forty-seven states and D.C. have Medicaid “buy-in” programs. No one should have to choose between keeping a job and keeping their healthcare, and Medicaid “buy-in” programs make it possible for disabled people to have both.
Sources
Cimera, R. (2008). The cost-trends of supported employment versus sheltered employment. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 28(1), 15–20. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Robert-Cimera/publication/230853211_The_cost-trends_of_supported_employment_versus_sheltered_employment/links/0f317531a1daed13b6000000/The-cost-trends-of-supported-employment-versus-sheltered-employment.pdf
Young, Jonathan M., et al. (2012). Report on Subminimum Wage and Supported Employment. National Council on Disability (NCD). https://www.ncd.gov/report/national-council-on-disability-report-on-subminimum-wage-and-supported-employment/
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). (2023). Subminimum Wage Program: DOL could do more to ensure timely oversight (GAO-23-105116). https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-23-105116
Andara, K., Neal, A., & Khatta, R. (2024, February 22). Disabled Workers Saw Record Employment Gains in 2023, But Gaps Remain. Center for American Progress (CAP). https://www.americanprogress.org/article/disabled-workers-saw-record-employment-gains-in-2023-but-gaps-remain/
Heigl, L., Knackstedt, K., & Silva, E. (2024, February 14). Pennies on the Dollar: The Use of Subminimum Wage for Disabled Workers Across the United States. New America. https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/reports/the-use-of-subminimum-wage-for-disabled-workers-across-the-us/momentum-to-change-the-subminimum-wage/
Association of People Supporting Employment First (2024, July). Trends and Current Status of 14(c). https://apse.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/APSE-14c-Update-REV-Jul24.pdf
U.S. Census Bureau. (2022). Any disability, Cognitive disability, and No disability,: Percent of Working-Age People Who Are Employed in Alaska, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, Oregon, Vermont, 2015-2022 American Community Survey. U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved from https://www.thinkwork.org/statedata/build-a-chart?report=comparison
Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act (TCIEA), S.533 and H.R.1263, SEC. 102, 118th Congress, (2023), https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/533 and https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/1263