VOICEOVER: A message from Jillian Nelson on subminimum wage.
JILLIAN NELSON: Hi, my name is Jillian Nelson, and I am the policy director at the Autism Society of Minnesota and an autistic disabled adult. I am a white woman with teal hair wearing a teal sweater. Here in Minnesota, in 2025, we still have 3,493 individuals with disabilities being paid less than minimum wage for their workplace contribution. Their average hourly rate is only $4.10 an hour, and these workers rarely work more than eight hours a week. This is hardly a livable wage.
Presently, Minnesota still uses a program called Section 14C, or subminimum wage, that allows businesses such as day programs , or vocational programs to pay people to do certain types of work for less than minimum wage. In 2020, a group of self-advocates began this legislative fight to end this injustice and ensure that people with disabilities are paid equal wages to the rest of society.
This work led to the Legislative Task Force on Eliminating Sub-minimum Wage, which brought together a talented group of self-advocates, professionals, and providers to create a plan to support programs and people in moving away from this antiquated practice. In 2023, the legislative body put most of that plan into action, except actually ending the use of sub-minimum wage.
Now, in 2025, the Coalition for Disability Wage Justice is more than 36 members strong, including the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, many counties, advocacy organizations, and some of the state’s largest unions. This session, we are asking our elected members to finally finish what the disability community started and set an end date for the use of sub-minimum wage.
All people with disabilities deserve all of the same rights as people without disabilities, including wage equity. We are capable of participating in our community and our economy, and have more to offer society than limited work in sheltered settings. Ending sub-minimum wage will open up space for all people with disabilities to find employment that meets their needs and their interests.
This conversation is headed to Human Service and Labor committees. We hope that you will join us on this journey and tell your elected representatives how important this issue is.