This month we celebrate Disability Pride Month, commemorating the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We pay tribute to the advocates and organizers who worked for decades to secure enactment of this landmark civil rights law prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities. We reflect on the progress made to ensure individuals with disabilities have equal opportunity to participate in all aspects of life, including work.
But rather than seeking to build on that progress, the Trump administration and its Labor Department are actively undermining the workplace protections and supports that millions of workers with disabilities rely on. Recent actions call into question the Trump administration’s and Labor Department’s commitment to supporting workers with disabilities.
Four Ways the Trump Labor Department is Turning Its Back On Workers With Disabilities
1. Abandoning efforts to eliminate subminimum wages for disabled workers
Current law allows employers to obtain certificates from the Department of Labor that allow them to pay their employees with disabilities well below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. These 14(c) certificates, named for their designation in the law, are an antiquated relic from a time when the law assumed that workers with disabilities were unable to be productive workers.
But, since then, the law has greatly evolved, including through the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act, to provide workers with the right to accommodations and supports that ensure they can work. Based on this, in December 2024, the Labor Department proposed to wind down the use of 14(c) certificates. But just this month, the Labor Department withdrew its proposal, abandoning long-overdue action by the federal government to support workers with disabilities receive fair pay.
2. Neglecting complaints of discrimination from federal contract workers with disabilities
Federal contract workers – who make up more than 20 percent of this country’s workforce – are protected against discrimination based on disability under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is tasked with investigating complaints it receives from workers. The agency also proactively looks at contractors’ employment practices to see if they are breaking the law. These compliance reviews are important for finding the widespread discrimination it would be hard for a worker to find on their own.
This month, an announcement from the Labor Department highlighted that, for nearly six months, the agency had put an unnecessary pause on enforcement of Section 503. This means the agency was not investigating complaints from workers that they were facing disability-based discrimination. The Labor Department also announced it would abandon compliance reviews identified in 2024. These actions will likely delay or deny justice to workers with disabilities who have faced discrimination.
3. Attempting to eliminate outreach requirements that help workers with disabilities find life-changing workforce training programs
Workforce training and career services programs can be vital for workers with barriers to employment to find a path to a good job with good pay. These programs can be especially impactful for workers with disabilities, who face an unemployment rate that’s more than double the rate for nondisabled people. Workers with disabilities are also less likely to look for work and when they do look, less likely to find it.
But this month, the Trump administration issued a proposed rule to eliminate a 2016 regulation that helps ensure that programs that provide training and career services actively reach out to individuals who face barriers to employment, including workers with disabilities. Without this outreach, fewer individuals with disabilities will know about programs that could help them find and secure a good paying job.
4. Trying to pawn off its responsibilities to protect federal contract workers with disabilities
OFCCP has seen deep staffing cuts and office closures that will significantly impact the agency’s ability to enforce non-discrimination and affirmative action requirements for federal contractors. By rolling back staff levels and presence in local communities, the agency is effectively rolling back enforcement. Workers with disabilities will likely see significant delays in getting their complaints of discrimination investigated. The agency already abandoned ongoing reviews that determine whether employers are adhering to the law.
But the Trump administration wants to completely pawn off its enforcement responsibilities. In May, the Trump administration released its budget request, laying out how it wants Congress to fund the government. In its request, the administration proposed turning over enforcement of Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 from the Department of Labor, to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). But at the same time, the administration requested a nearly $20 million cut to the EEOC’s already inadequate budget. Moving the work to a new agency with slashed funding would undoubtedly leave workers with less enforcement.
What We Should Do Instead
Instead of abandoning anti-discrimination enforcement and enabling substandard wages, our government must take decisive action to ensure disabled workers can obtain and maintain employment. This includes eliminating the subminimum wage for disabled workers, making greater investments in workforce development programs and increasing funding for federal nondiscrimination agencies.
