Leaders of national advocacy groups for the disabled delivered a petition to Goodwill Industries on Thursday demanding that the company stop using a 75-year-old section of federal labor law to pay disabled employees less than the minimum wage.
About 170,000 people signed the Change.org petition. Representatives from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) delivered copies of the petition to Goodwill’s headquarters in Maryland and to stores across the country as pickets were held outside.
Goodwill Industries, a massive nonprofit that provides job opportunities at thrift stores nationwide, has been facing down a public relations debacle since investigations by NBC News and Watchdog.org revealed that disabled employees at some Goodwill stores had earned as little as 22 cents an hour in recent years. A subsequent investigation found that employees at a few Goodwill franchises were paid less than 10 cents an hour in 2011.
In a statement, Goodwill said the petition “painted an inaccurate picture” by taking “isolated incidences of a few workers” and implying that they are typical of the company. Goodwill would not comment the “specific circumstances” of any employee because of privacy issues.
Under a Section 14 of the Fair Labor Standards Act, originally passed in 1938, employers such as Goodwill can obtain Special Minimum Wage Certificates to pay disabled workers a wage that is less than the federal minimum if their disability directly impairs them from performing on the job.
“Goodwill should step out of the 1930s and adopt a business model that provides real training and opportunities for workers with disabilities to earn the federal minimum wage or higher,” said Anil Lewis, policy and advocacy director of the NFB.
The NFB, ASAN and the National Council on Disability, a federal advisory committee, have called for Section 14 to be phased out. About 300,000 disabled workers are paid less than the minimum wage under Section 14 of the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to the NFB.
Goodwill, however, has steadfastly defended the provision, arguing that many people with severe disabilities would be unable to find a job if employers could not apply for the exemptions.
The NFB says many employers are profiting off the labor of disabled workers and often receive lucrative federal contracts, so there is no reason to pay anyone less than the minimum wage, regardless of their abilities.
In an editorial in the Huffington Post this year, Goodwill CEO Jim Gibbons claimed Goodwill was “unfairly singled out” by activists and the media for paying disabled workers less than the minimum wage.
“While it is quite easy to look at this provision quickly and ask why people with disabilities should be paid less than other workers, the truth is the certificate allows Goodwill and many other employers to provide opportunities for people with severe disabilities who otherwise might not be a part of the workforce,” Gibbons wrote.
But advocates for the disabled point out that Gibbons brought home $729,000 in salary and deferred payment in 2011, and the CEO of Goodwill Southern California made $1.1 million that same year, according to reports. Salaries for CEOs at 150 Goodwill franchises across the country total $30 million.
“Twenty-three years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Goodwill’s actions should be universally recognized as disgraceful,” said Ari Ne’eman, president of ASAN and member of the National Council on Disability. “If you can afford to pay six- and seven-figure salaries to your executives, you can afford to pay minimum wage to your employees.”
Goodwill claims that 5,000 to 7,000 of its 113,000 employees are paid under Special Minimum Wage Certificates, and the average hourly pay of those employees is approximately $7.45 an hour, which is slightly above the federal minimum of $7.25.
Legislation introduced this year by Rep. Gregg Harper, a Republican from Mississippi, would repeal Section 14 of the Fair Labor Standards Act, and groups such as the NFB are working to rally support for the bill in Congress.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $93,000 in one-time donations and to add 1295 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy