HARTFORD, Conn. — Dan Lenz always wanted to work and have an apartment of his own — a simple wish that his mother, Fay Lenz, said posed challenges for the Avon resident with intellectual disabilities and autism.

But Lenz said her son has thrived in the workforce for 20 years and now works at an electrical and building infrastructure company in West Hartford that pays workers with disabilities less than minimum wage. The company is one of several that holds a certificate under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act to pay workers a subminimum wage.

Now Lenz fears that HB 5607, a proposed state law by Rep. Steven Winter, D-94, that would eliminate the subminimum wage, will also eliminate jobs for people like her son.

Advocates of the bill say it is about fairness and dignity for workers with disabilities but opponents like Fay Lenz say it is not a given that workers like her son will find other jobs.

“They do not have enough employers who are hiring people with disabilities and educating employers to the fact that people with disabilities have skills,” Fay Lenz said. “Some kids may never be able to develop skills to be paid minimum wage.”

Lenz said keeping the subminimum wage does not mean she is opposed to workers with disabilities being paid the state’s full minimum wage of $16.35 an hour.

“Until we can get the correct support in place and get the jobs, we are dumping our kids into nothing,” she said.

Winter said that the New Haven Commission on Disabilities reached out to him about filing the bill, referring to it as an issue of fairness and how “we treat people with disabilities.”

Winter said the elimination of subminimum wage is important for creating a work environment where community members have pathways to grow.

He said 14 states have eliminated the subminimum wage including Alaska, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Colorado, California, Delaware, South Carolina and Rhode Island. He added four other states are phasing out subminimum wage for workers with disabilities.

He added that where states have adopted legislation to end subminimum wage, employment of adults with cognitive disabilities has increased.

Stephen Morris, executive director of The Arc of the Farmington Valley, Inc. (Favarh), a private provider for the Department of Developmental Services (DDS), said that while universal minimum wage is a laudable goal, the elimination of 14(c) certificates would result in job loss for hundreds of workers with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“These workers possess valuable skills and a strong desire to contribute, but may not match conventional productivity expectations,” Morris said in his written testimony Feb. 20 at the Labor and Public Employees Committee. “Rather than excluding them from the workforce entirely, the 14(c) certificate creates opportunities for meaningful employment that might otherwise be unavailable.”

The U.S, Department of Labor sets the subminimum wage for people with disabilities, according to Juliet Manalan, director of communications for the state’s Department of Labor.

In December 2024, the federal Department of Labor announced a proposed rule that would phase out the issuance of certificates allowing employers to pay some workers with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage, according to a release from the department.

However, it is unclear under the Trump Administration if this proposed rule will be finalized.

Despite repeated attempts, no one could be reached at the U.S. Department of Labor for comment, with many email addresses from the department bouncing back as no longer valid.

Christian Allyn wrote in his written testimony in support of the proposed law on Feb. 20 that the bill is personal. He wrote that as a high school student he was paid as little as $1 per hour.

“This made me feel lesser than everyone else, which as a person with a disability, I felt that way already,” he wrote.

Francis Traceski feels differently about the bill, saying that his daughter, Lauren Traceski, who has a genetic anomaly that causes her to have an intellectual disability, would have never been employed without being paid subminimum wage for a number of years.

“There are people who might not be able to start at minimum wage,” he said. “Subminimum wage allows them to get work and have purpose.”

He added his daughter now works for minimum wage but she would not now be able to if she had not worked for many years in subminimum wage jobs.

Billy Huang, chairperson of the New Haven Commission on Disabilities, said in his testimony in support of the bill that persons with disabilities experience “lower employment rates compared with the general population, 22.5% vs 65.8% in 2024.”

He added that proponents of 14(c) have argued “the importance of the dignity of work and the value of the therapeutic nature of work but they often fail to develop initiatives to transition sheltered employment into full-time employment.

“This lack of support is inimical to the spirit of civil rights legislation such as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act which emphasize the need for persons with disabilities to have equal opportunities, including through employment,” he said. “Moreover, there is little empirical evidence to support that individuals under 14(c) programs ever leave such a structure and attain gainful employment like their peers.”

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