Writer, aggregator Kevan Worley.
Contributing editor Dan Burke.
Here is what you need to know
Denver ends payment of subminimum wages, By Curtis Chong.
For decades, we in the National Federation of the Blind have
strongly opposed Section 14(c) of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This
antiquated, discriminatory provision of the law, adopted in 1938, allows
employers to pay workers with disabilities less than the federal minimum
wage—sometimes as little as pennies per hour.
Section 14(c) may still exist in the Fair Labor Standards Act, but
in the city of Denver, starting on January 1, 2020, subminimum wages for people
with disabilities—including the blind—will be a thing of the past.
On November 27, 2019, two days after it was unanimously adopted by
the Denver City Council, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock signed Council Bill 19-1237.
In addition to raising the minimum wage in the city of Denver, this landmark
ordinance provides in relevant part:
"…the
city has a long history of embracing equal pay for equal work, and finds that
it is in the best interest of the city and workers that all persons be paid not
less than the minimum wage regardless of age or ability/disability…no person
[other than minors enrolled in a certified youth employment program (where they
cannot be paid less than 85% of the minimum wage)]…shall be exempted from the
requirement that all workers be paid the minimum wage for work performed"
None of this would have been possible without action from the
Colorado General Assembly and our good friend Senator Jessie Danielson. Earlier
this year, the General Assembly passed House Bill 19-1210, repealing the
prohibitions on local governments to establish minimum wage laws within their
jurisdictions. Of importance to people with disabilities is the following
language in the bill:
"All
adult employees and emancipated minors, whether employed on an hourly,
piecework, commission, time, task, or other basis, shall be paid not less than
the minimum wage enacted by the local government through its governing body or
through initiative or referendum powers."
This language applies not only to the city of Denver but to any
other local jurisdiction choosing to establish a minimum wage ordinance. In
other words, even without the explicit provisions incorporated into Denver's
minimum wage ordinance, other local jurisdictions which adopt minimum wage
ordinances would have to ensure that the minimum wage provisions apply to
everyone regardless of disability.
There is no question that the minimum wage increase in Denver is
significant. The minimum wage in Denver right now is $11.10 per hour. It rises
to $12.85 per hour starting January 1, 2020, $14.77 per hour starting January
1, 2021, and $15.87 per hour starting January 1, 2022. The minimum wage
thereafter will be adjusted based on the Consumer Price Index.
Interestingly enough, media reports about the passage and signing
of ordinance 19-1237 focused on the minimum wage increases that would soon take
place. To my knowledge, there was only one news report which recognized the
significance to people with disabilities of the Denver ordinance. On Wednesday,
November 27, CBS Denver aired a story entitled Denver's
Minimum Wage Will Go Up To Almost $16/Hour which focused primarily on
the impact that Denver's minimum wage ordinance would have on people with
disabilities.
The city of Denver joins a
growing number of state and local jurisdictions which are eliminating
subminimum wages for people with disabilities despite the discriminatory
Section 14(c) in the Fair Labor Standards Act. This is truly another step
forward in the quest of the organized blind for equality of opportunity and
first-class citizenship.
CABS meeting Friday the 13th, By Cynthia Coffin.
My name is Cynthia Coffin. I am the new Colorado Association of
Blind Students Division President. We are having a student meeting on Friday
the 13th of December at 7:00 p. m. Bonnie Barlow, an audio description
specialist, is joining us as our guest speaker on the call. We will also discuss fundraising ideas for this upcoming year. We would
love to have students join the call. We
are switching our calls to zoom. You will want to download zoom. For information
on how to use this app for our call feel free to get in touch with me, cindy.coffin80@gmail.com.
CABS Meeting Time 12/13/2019 at 7:00 PM.
Meeting url: https://zoom.us/j/5143348399.
These days everyone in our community has interest in audio
description. Student in formal education or student in life you are welcome to
join us and enjoy the comments of Bonnie Barlow. Many of you have undoubtedly
heard Bonnie’s audio descriptions of theater at the Denver Center for
Performing Arts, and, whether you knew it or not, on a number of sitcoms and films.
Go students!
I implore you, By Kevan Worley.
Our Blind CO Blog becomes more popular all the time. Dan and I
appreciate all of you who read these posts and forward them to others. Between
the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas seems like a good time for me to
thank all of you for reading and sharing. One thing we have not done in this
blog is spend time soliciting funds to support our movement. But, funding our
programs is vital. In recent years, our Colorado Center for the Blind has
participated in Colorado Gives Day. This year, Colorado Gives Day is on Tuesday
the 10th. This is an opportunity for each one of us to give a few
bucks and take advantage of a large pool of matching dollars available only to
recognized Colorado charities. Will you consider making a small contribution?
Lives are changed with the dollars we contribute. Your aggregator pledges $100
this year. Please read this information from Julie Deden, Executive Director,
Colorado Center for the Blind, and please contribute if you are able. And thank
you from the bottom of my heart for reading the blog and considering a
contribution to our own Colorado Center for the Blind.
Greetings!
Make no mistake - at the Colorado Center for the Blind we change
lives! Our training and programs are backed by a solid belief in the capacity
of blind people to take charge with confidence. That's what sets us apart from
other blindness programs - challenge and high expectations! Maureen is a great
example. When she arrived at the Center in 2009, she was scared but determined.
Read what she posted this morning on Face Book:
Ten years ago,
today I graduated from the Colorado Center for the Blind. When I arrived, I had
no cane, no belief, and every intention to return home quickly. Who knew just 8
months of training would so drastically change my life? Then, I was given the
amazing opportunity of teaching Home management at the center for close to nine
years and was touched by hundreds of blind students. I am married to the most
amazing man, mother to baby Logan, and finishing my dream of getting my bachelor’s
degree. I continue to receive so many opportunities and I am blessed to have
continuous personal growth and growth for my family. The friends that we have
made here have become our family and we are blessed with an abundant amount of
support. This is a reminder to step out of your comfort zone and take those
risks. You never know what may happen!! I’m grateful every day!
We gave Maureen a cane, and as she stepped out of her comfort
zone, she also received confidence - the confidence to live the life she wants.
You know she is!
Please, help
the Colorado Center for the Blind help our students to change their lives this
Colorado Gives Day, December 10. Each year, we make a difference in the
lives of hundreds of blind youth, working-age students like Maureen, and
seniors losing vision. You can be part of that success! Your annual
contributions to us on Colorado
Gives Day help keep the Colorado Center for the Blind in the
forefront, so our students have all the tools they need to be confident in
their own success!
Yes, your donations on Colorado
Gives Day qualify for a percentage of the $1 Million Incentive Fund,
courtesy of First Bank and Community First Foundation. But you can schedule
your donation today! That way, you can check that one off your
pre-holiday "To-do" list!
Do it in honor of Maureen!
And thanks!
Julie Deden, Executive Director
Ho Ho Ho, who wouldn’t go?
Ho, Ho, Ho, who wouldn’t go to the holiday craft fair to raise
funds for Colorado School for Deaf and Blind athletic programs. It is Saturday,
December 7 at the CSDB gym. Learn all of the details here.
That’s all for this time,
But, keep checking our blog for updated info and opinion posts.
Until next time, live the life you want.
Forward!
Always forward!
Thanks Jess for the incredible report. I'm excited to make my donation to the Colorado Center. Although I wish I could give more. I'm donating $20.00. Every time I meet a fellow blind person who is either going through the program, or has already been or graduated from there, it reminds me of when I went to The Colorado Center for the Blind. I was also scared, struggling in my mobility efforts. The Center helped tremendously. Before going to the Center my ways of getting around town were by having a family member cart me everywhere. Before leaving the program, I was able to ride the RTD bus taking six busses a day to take my son to his Daycare person. It took three busses going to and from and at times I was traveling in the dark and very frightened. After climbing rocks, going skating with the use of a cane, Traveling to Dallas Texas on a charter and becoming accountable to my own responsibilities, I'm proud to say I was a student at the Colorado Center and can and do travel not only in the Denver area, but anywhere my heart desires. Thanks for being here to help build my confidence as a blind person.
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