Sponsor
Thomas Bryant Cotton
Senator · R-AR
Senator · R-AR
The bill creates faster, clearer paths for some people with disabilities to take paid work and eases employers' hiring hurdles, but does so by expanding and legitimizing exceptions that risk lowering wages, weakening protections, and undermining long-term supports for disabled workers.
People with disabilities (age 18+) who prefer paid work can accept jobs under a documented "choice" exception, giving them an immediate path to paid employment they might otherwise be denied.
Employers — especially small businesses — gain a clear alternative compliance path and a way to proceed when State vocational units do not respond, reducing hiring delays caused by bureaucratic gaps.
Employers who hire under the exception will have access to documentation about the process when the person is already employed, improving transparency between employers and workforce programs.
People with disabilities (age 18+) could be paid subminimum wages more often, lowering their earnings and reinforcing segregation in the labor market for disabled workers.
Framing the law as an allowance with an individual-choice exception weakens legal protections and increases the risk of exploitation of disabled workers.
Employers may be incentivized to hire under subminimum-wage certificates instead of providing competitive wages and accommodations, which can depress wage standards for disabled workers.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Amends Section 511 of the Rehabilitation Act to allow subminimum wages for adults (18+) when the individual chooses or when a State unit fails to provide counseling after documented outreach, and adjusts documentation access rules.
Official title: Amend the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to ensure workplace choice and opportunity for young adults with disabilities.
Introduced July 15, 2026 by Thomas Bryant Cotton · Last progress July 15, 2026
Rewrites part of the Rehabilitation Act to allow certain employers to pay subminimum wages to adults with disabilities (18 and older) when specific conditions are met, including an express choice by the individual or when a State vocational unit fails to provide required counseling after documented outreach. It also requires employers to provide copies of documentation to the employing entity when the documentation process is used and makes the amendments effective only for employment beginning on or after enactment. The bill changes the current prohibition-based framing into an allowance-based framing, narrows the covered age cohort to adults 18+, creates an employer-side compliance pathway if a State unit does not respond to outreach, and alters documentation-access rules for employers when the process is followed.