DOL Wage and Hour Division Issues Guidance on FLSA Section 14(c)

Today, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) published guidance on the FLSA SECTION 14(c) published three documents providing guidance on the payment of subminimum wages under section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  The first two are related to the impact of Rehabilitation Act section 511 and third provides general guidance on the administration of section 14(c).​

The first is Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) No. 2019-1 concerning the definition of subminimum wages under section 511 and WHD’s enforcement of the limitations on the payment of those wages under section 14(c).

The second is a revised Fact Sheet #39H: The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and Limitations on Payment of Subminimum Wages under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act.  The revisions include information on the definition of subminimum wages and timing requirements under section 511, as well as two charts to provide visual summaries for determining when and to whom the specific section 511 requirements apply.  The Fact Sheet also cross-references readers to the related regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Education.

The third guidance document, Fact Sheet #39I:  Adjusting Commensurate Wage Rates under a Section 14(c) Certificate After a Change in the Minimum Wage, provides guidance on taking appropriate action to ensure prevailing wage rates are timely examined and adjusted, and the workers’ commensurate wage rates correspondingly adjusted, as needed, when there is an increase in the federal, state, or a locality’s minimum wage requirements.

For more info about the section 14(c) program, visit https://www.dol.gov/whd/workerswithdisabilities/.