the bill would enable more vendors to participate, boosting job and vocational training opportunities for disabled people.
Neil Romano, a member of the National Council on Disability, agreed, adding, “It is very much against the flow of history.” CEO Colleen Himmelberg said Cottonwood helps workers who need one-on-one support that other employers won't provide. Andy Traub, a Kansas City-area human resources consultant who works with The Golden Scoop and much larger businesses, said there might be a limited place for sheltered workshops, but “not as a default setting.” Groups serving the disabled ought to be required to help them try “competitive” jobs first, he said.
They cite the mid-February meeting of a Kansas legislative committee that highlighted the tax credit proposal's provisions. The chair of the committee handling the bill, state Rep. Sean Tarwater, a Kansas City-area Republican, defended programs paying below the minimum wage. Connecticut state Rep. Jane Garibay, a Hartford-area Democrat, said being paid fairly is “part of being valued as a human being.” She lives with an adult niece with Down syndrome and is sponsoringthat would require Connecticut employers to pay workers with intellectual disabilities the state minimum wage, $15 an hour, if they can do a job.