Senators Casey and Daines, and Representatives Scott and McMorris Rodgers:

On behalf of the Alliance for Expanding America’s Workforce (AEAW), I would like to express our support for the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act.

AEAW is dedicated to expanding employment opportunities for people with disabilities by modernizing the federal government’s procurement processes, direct hiring practices and related policies. The Alliance is focused on modernizing and expanding the AbilityOne Program, in addition to strengthening and exploring other levers of federal employment to ensure people with disabilities have access to good jobs with good pay and benefits.

When Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act, people with disabilities were largely considered untrainable and unemployable, and thus the exception was created in part to incentivize the employment of people with disabilities and disabled veterans in the workforce. However, the policy is no longer necessary and runs counter to the ultimate goal of creating equitable, accessible employment opportunities. The Alliance members collectively view 14(c) as an outdated measure that restricts mobility and autonomy for disabled employees and undervalues and limits the contributions of disabled workers in the workforce. These outdated measures, which allow employees with disabilities to be paid pennies on the dollar, no longer expand employment access and instead prevent opportunities for growth and advancement within and outside of the workplace.

By phasing out subminimum wages, this bill will ensure employees with disabilities earn a fair wage for their work and will support employers and providers in transitioning their service models. States have already begun to recognize the need to transition away from 14(C) and began phasing out the policy on their own. The AbilityOne Program ended the use of 14(c) certificates in October 2022, demonstrating that the federal government can lead the way in ending this outdated practice. It is time for Congress to follow suit.

AEAW believes the government is the most powerful force for expanding equitable employment opportunities for people with disabilities. We thank you for your leadership in Congress to recognize the unjust nature of subminimum wages and to enact a nationwide transition away from 14(c) certificates.

Dwight Davis

President, Alliance for Expanding America’s Workforce (AEAW)

President, Global Connections to Employment (GCE)

‍