Restoration of Employment Choice for Adults with Disabilities Act
Key claim: The bill would relax Section 14© subminimum wage rules by eliminating vocational rehabilitation and transition service prerequisites for disabled youth under 24 and easing employer career counseling requirements.
Abstract
(HR4761 · 117th Congress) Restoration of Employment Choice for Adults with Disabilities Act This bill relaxes requirements that allow entities with a special wage certificate to pay subminimum wages to individuals with disabilities. Specifically, the bill eliminates a requirement that an individual with disabilities who is younger than 24 receive pre-employment transition services and meet specified vocational rehabilitation criteria before beginning subminimum wage work. The bill also relaxes career counseling and service referral requirements that apply to an individual with disabilities who is paid at a subminimum wage. Current law requires an entity to ensure that an individual employed by the entity at a subminimum wage receives periodic career counseling, information, and referrals to employment-related supports and resources in the area provided by the designated state agency. Under the bill, this requirement is satisfied if the employer makes documented effort to contact the state agency for those resources on behalf of the employee and the state agency fails to respond. Latest action (2021-07-28): Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Why this matters
For young workers with disabilities, the proposal would remove required rehabilitation and transition-service steps before entering subminimum-wage employment, while reducing employers’ counseling obligations. It raises a policy question about balancing access to these employment arrangements with safeguards that help workers explore other employment options. The bill is introduced legislation and has not changed current requirements.