With federal officials expected to propose a new rule that could end a government program allowing people with disabilities to be paid less than minimum wage, some lawmakers are already raising red flags.

The U.S. Department of Labor is planning to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking related to Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The law, which dates back to 1938, allows employers to obtain special certificates from the Labor Department authorizing them to pay people with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

The particulars of the proposal are unclear, but many disability advocates have been pressing the Labor Department for years to phase out so-called subminimum wage, which can leave workers with disabilities earning as little as pennies per hour. Several states have already banned the practice, a step that President Joe Biden has said he supports at the national level, and the number of people with disabilities paid subminimum wage has dropped sharply in recent years.

But even before the release of any proposed rule, Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and John Boozman, R-Ark., are voicing concern that the agency is “considering a new rule that would abolish the 14(c) program.”

In a letter to Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su and Shalanda Young, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, the senators said that changes to the 14(c) program should be up to Congress.

“Regardless of any policy objections the administration might have with the 14(c) program, it must be enforced according to the law,” the letter reads. “Any efforts to make it functionally unworkable without Congressional authorization would be illegal.”

The senators are asking the Biden administration to address how many people with disabilities would lose jobs at sheltered workshops under the proposed rule and how the job losses would impact families who may be left to provide daytime care for individuals who are newly unemployed.

“All people, regardless of their abilities, should have the opportunity for dignified work,” the letter states. “The 14(c) program does not limit the ability of disabled workers to engage in competitive employment. It merely provides those with difficulties in a traditional work environment the opportunity to engage in meaningful work. It provides many vulnerable Americans with a sense of accomplishment and provides their families and caretakers with time to complete activities necessary for the functioning of their households.”

Ryan Honick, a spokesman for the Labor Department, said the agency is aware of the senators’ letter, but declined to comment further.

The agency’s Unified Agenda indicates that the proposed rule is expected by the end of September, but Honick indicated that it’s still being reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget.

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