Sponsors (6)
The bill aims to expand competitive integrated employment, wages, and stakeholder-driven reforms for people with disabilities through federal funding, technical assistance, and oversight, while shifting costs and administrative burdens onto employers, governments, and taxpayers and risking short-term service disruptions for some beneficiaries.
People with disabilities will gain substantially expanded access to competitive, integrated employment and higher pay (including a phased increase to the federal minimum wage), increasing incomes and workplace inclusion for many jobseekers with disabilities.
Federal grant funding, technical assistance, and evidence-based implementation support will help states, local workforce systems, and service providers redesign programs and deliver wraparound supports to enable transitions to community-based employment.
The bill increases rights, inclusion, and stakeholder voice by prohibiting new special (subminimum) wage certificates, prioritizing people with the most significant disabilities, requiring stakeholder advisory councils, and giving individuals/families a formal role in planning transitions.
Employers—especially small businesses, nonprofits, and some public programs—will face higher labor costs and operational burdens from required wage increases and program redesigns, which could reduce hiring, hours, or services.
The federal government (and thus taxpayers) will incur new and potentially open-ended costs from multi‑year grants, authorized funding streams (including $50M/year authorizations), and possible 'such sums as necessary' appropriations to support the transition.
States, local agencies, and eligible entities will face significant administrative, reporting, application, and evaluation burdens (data collection, advisory councils, compliance monitoring) that could strain limited agency capacity and budgets.
Based on analysis of 13 sections of legislative text.
Introduced July 25, 2025 by Robert C. Scott · Last progress July 25, 2025
Provides federal grants, technical assistance, and an evaluation to help employers and states transition workers with disabilities from subminimum wages under special certificates (FLSA §14(c)) into competitive integrated employment and community-based services. It phases down permitted subminimum wages over four years, bars new certificates, and sunsets existing certificate authority after that period. Creates two competitive grant streams (State grants and Certificate Holder grants), a single nonprofit technical assistance grant, and a multi-year federal evaluation; authorizes $50 million per year FY2026–FY2031 to carry out the program and requires reports and data collection to track wages, employment, and transitions to integrated employment and services.