“Nella, we could be out of here right now if you would quit checkin’ out the babes and get to work.” ???? ????

I remember my first retail job after I graduated high school. I worked at Structure in the mall (who remembers that store?) and started off at at minimum wage at $4.25 an hour, and moved my way up to $5.15 before I moved on in a year and a half. I could barley make ends meet even with some help from my mom. In 2018, the Federal Minimum Wage is just $7.25 an hour, although most states raise that to around $10. Did you know that in some instances it is legal to pay someone with a disability subminimum wage? And according to the American Institute for Research workers with disabilities who have at least a high school education earn 37 percent less on average than their peers without disabilities. This is creating the perception that somehow people with disabilities can’t compete, cannot hold down a job, are not worthy of the same pay as someone else…when in reality it is the EXACT OPPOSITE.

Bottom line is these numbers HAVE TO CHANGE. I hope by showing the value and the benefit these individuals bring into the workplace will help in some small way. Even if it’s just one employer who says, “Congratulations! You got the job!” to someone with different abilities that they would have previously overlooked…my day will be made!

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