The Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act (H.R.1263/S. 533) is a bill that would give states and businesses the help they need to create competitive integrated employment opportunities for disabled people. Competitive integrated employment (CIE) means a job where disabled people are paid at least minimum wage and work with both disabled people and nondisabled people.

Specifically, the bill includes a six-year phase-out of subminimum wage certificates that are currently authorized under Section 14c of the Fair Labor Standards Act.  The bill authorizes two grant programs to support states to help build capacity to provide competitive integrated employment. It also creates a technical assistance center to support all state entities to transform systems and to disseminate best practices and lessons learned on the transition from subminimum wage to competitive employment. A recent Government Accountability Office report found that about 120,000 workers were employed under these certificates, with half earning less than $3.50 an hour.

We want Congress to include the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act (TCIEA) in the Committee’s workforce and apprenticeship markup package. An apprenticeship is when someone gets paid to learn how to do a job. A markup package is a group of bills that a committee reviews at the same time. The package that TCIEA is a part of is called the apprenticeship markup package because other bills in the package are about apprenticeships. TCIEA is not about apprenticeships, but since it is about employment, it is in this package. TCIEA is more likely to pass as part of a package than it is on its own. In addition, we need to gain more cosponsors. Please contact your Representatives and Senators to inform them to cosponsor the bill. Thank you for supporting employment for people with autism.