The Special Minimum Wage Provision Section 14c of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a vital tool that allows individuals with significant disabilities to work in an environment where they are compensated commensurate with their productivity, have friendships, support and purposeful activity.  Hundreds of thousands of people with significant disabilities benefit from these work opportunities throughout the United States.  The United States Civil Rights Commission recently held a hearing on the Section 14c law.  Unfortunately, they only heard from individuals who were predominantly opposed to the law and did not schedule any testimony from those directly affected, specifically those working at Community Rehabilitation Programs and their family members who support them.

It Section 14c were to be eliminated from the FLSA, individuals with the most significant disabilities will lose their work opportunities and will be subject to staying at home, eventually succumbing to the desolation that can result from being inactive and unemployed.  Everyone has a right to work.  Support this right for our most vulnerable citizens!

Click HERE to sign the petition!

By Brett Sholtis, WITF - 

For years, the state has paid employers who hired people with intellectual disabilities, encouraging companies to bring people aboard who otherwise might not find jobs.

In May, the state reduced the amount it gives those companies, and now it’s facing a lawsuit from people who say that decision could hurt people with disabilities and the companies that hire them.

The state says it made the change because it wants people with intellectual disabilities to be out in the community rather than at a job with other people with intellectual disabilities.

But the lawsuit alleges that the policy is cutting off needed money and that it might force people with intellectual disabilities into situations that aren’t right for them.

Scott Schwartz is one of those people. The 43-year-old from Philadelphia has a genetic disorder known as fragile x syndrome.

Scott can’t count or spell, but he works about 20 hours a week, packaging products such as bags of cough drops and beverage cans. He works at a company licensed to hire people with disabilities, sometimes referred to as a sheltered workshop.

His father, Theodore Schwartz, said his son’s job has given him purpose and self-esteem.

“The key is structure,” Schwartz said. “Private companies can’t promise that kind of structured employment, where my son can thrive.”

The father and son are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, along with a nonprofit advocacy group and Scott’s employer, Associated Production Services.

That company’s 500-person workforce is made up almost entirely of people with developmental disabilities. Without state funding, it would lose $432,000 per year and would likely go out of business, Schwartz said.

Read the full article here.

by Ronnie Polaneczky

“They call me the ‘sample king,’ ” said John Mitchell as he carried a tray of Wawa smoothie samples — mini cups of frothy treats with fun names like Graveyard Smash and Spellbound Strawberry — to the front of the store on a pre-Halloween morning and began hawking them to customers.

“Graveyard Smash, Graveyard Smash! Enjoy a spectacular treat in time for Halloween!” he called out. Then, “Catch the spell of the Spellbound Strawberry! Free samples!”

Some customers hustled past without a glance. But as the lunchtime crowd thickened, Mitchell’s guileless joy — and all that whipped cream — drew others in. Customers sipped, chatted pleasantly with him, then sipped some more.

Soon, the drinks were gone, and Mitchell, looking satisfied, moved on to his next task: tending the store’s dozen coffee urns. Yes, he collects a regular paycheck for his work, he said, “but seeing the smiles of people I serve and having them say thank-you is payment enough for me.”

His boss, Ryan Schwarzman, just shook his head, grinning at Mitchell, whom he has known since 2012, when he hired him during Wawa’s annual Hoagiefest campaign.

“John is a wonderful, hardworking associate — and he brings so much fun to the job,” said Schwarzman, who manages the busy, 50-employee store on South Columbus Boulevard. “There’s never a day when he’s in the building that I don’t have a smile on my face. And customers love him.”

Mitchell, 33, who hasAsperger’s syndrome— a form of autism — works two days a week staffing the coffee station, mixing specialty drinks, and lending a hand where needed. He is among many hundreds of special-needs adults who have found work through Wawa’s Supported Employment Program.

Their responsibilities are as varied as their own skills, just as they are for store employees without disabilities. Some receive assistance from job coaches provided by employment agencies (likeCommunity Integrated Services — CIS, which worked with Wawa to place Mitchell in his job and trains him as new tasks arise). Others are able to master their duties via Wawa’s usual training processes.

But all are employed thanks to a single, progressive act of equity by a Wawa manager in 1981. The manager created a job at his Princeton store for a local man, Ari Shiner, who was a client of nearbyEden Autism Services, a nonprofit that advocates for adults with autism and their families.

“He had gotten to know Ari and wanted him to have a meaningful work experience, and things evolved from there,” said Wawa treasurer Jay Culotta. “All it took was one manager, making one decision, to start a movement that has become a very strong part of our company’s culture.”

Read the full articlehere!

Woods Community at Brian’s House has a rich history of helping people with developmental and intellectual disabilities live meaningful and fulfilling lives in the communities of their choosing. We provide homes and work opportunities and foster friendships, learning, and the pursuit of interests.

We take great pride in helping each person we serve through a program that is as individualized and unique as they are. We strive to provide individuals with choices and to feel valued as members of their communities. 

We are committed to advocating for the welfare of each individual by staff who are compassionate, ethical and committed to the highest quality standards.