Eliminates provisions exempting employees with disabilities from the minimum wage law; provides that laws or minimum wage orders that authorize an employer to pay a wage that is less than the minimum wage are valid provided that under such laws or orders an employee with a disability is paid the same wage as an employee in a comparable position that does not have a disability.
Summary
This bill amends New York’s Labor Law to eliminate the existing statutory provisions that allow employees with disabilities to be paid less than the minimum wage under special certificates. In place of that framework, the bill provides that any law or minimum wage order authorizing payment below the minimum wage remains valid only if an employee with a disability is paid the same wage as a comparable employee without a disability. The bill also makes related conforming changes to the Labor Law’s definitions and wage-board provisions, including removing references to wage-setting based on impaired earning capacity due to age or disability.
The measure is aimed at ending subminimum wages for workers with disabilities and aligning pay protections with a comparable-work standard. It would affect employers currently relying on special wage certificates or similar exceptions, and it would require the Department of Labor to implement any necessary regulatory changes before the bill’s effective date of July 31, 2026.
Impact
The bill would substantially revise sections 651 and 655 of the Labor Law by striking the disability-based exemption from the definition and wage-board provisions that previously allowed lower-than-minimum wages for certain workers with impaired earning capacity. It preserves only limited remaining subminimum-wage frameworks for learners, apprentices, students in certain seasonal settings, and residential employees in specified nonprofit institutions, while removing the disability-specific authority to pay less than minimum wage. Employers, especially those using special certificates for workers with disabilities, would need to bring pay practices into conformity with the new equal-wage requirement.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests generally favorable sentiment toward the bill, at least in the Assembly Labor Committee, where it advanced on a 22-5 vote. The caption and structure of the bill indicate a reform-oriented approach focused on wage equity for people with disabilities, which is typically associated with strong support from labor and disability-rights advocates. No committee transcript was provided, so the record here reflects the vote and the bill’s stated purpose rather than detailed debate.
Contention
The main point of contention is the elimination of subminimum wage authority for employees with disabilities, which some opponents may view as removing a long-standing employment tool for certain employers and programs that argue it helps create work opportunities. Supporters, by contrast, appear to favor replacing that model with equal pay for comparable work and ending a practice they likely view as discriminatory. The 22-5 committee vote indicates some resistance, but the specific arguments for the dissenting votes are not available in the provided materials.
Same As
Eliminates provisions exempting employees with disabilities from the minimum wage law; provides that laws or minimum wage orders that authorize an employer to pay a wage that is less than the minimum wage are valid provided that under such laws or orders an employee with a disability is paid the same wage as an employee in a comparable position that does not have a disability.