On February 12, 2014, President Barack Obama signed an executive order raising the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors, including workers with disabilities, to $10.10/hour beginning in 2015.
The signing marks a historic day in the economic advancement of all people with disabilities, including those impacted by Fragile X.
Before the announcement, people with disabilities employed by federal contractors could be paid a subminimum wage in accordance with Section 14(c). The National Fragile X Foundation (NFXF) and our colleagues in the (CPSD) have long argued that Section 14(c) is not only discriminatory but keeps people with disabilities out of the economic mainstream.
The executive order signifies
a huge step in a long road
toward the economic
advancement of all people
with disabilities.Nearly one in three Americans with disabilities live in poverty, which is among the highest poverty rate of any underserved population in this country. The executive order gives low-wage workers with and without disabilities a chance to build a more secure financial future for themselves and their families.
“The National Fragile X Foundation commends the Obama Administration for their efforts of inclusiveness on this issue,” said Jeffrey Cohen, Interim Executive Director of the NFXF. “The executive order signifies a huge step in a long road toward the economic advancement of all people with disabilities.”
On February 4, 2014, the NFXF joined our fellow members of the CPSD in sending a letter to President Obama and U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Tom Perez calling on the Administration to include workers with disabilities in the President’s State of the Union announcement to raise minimum wage standards for all federally contracted workers.
The letter was part of the national push by disability groups and individuals that led to the historic executive order.