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ARTICLE · 10 JULY 2025

WHD Drops Proposal To End Subminimum Wages For Workers With Disabilities

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart
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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is withdrawing a Biden-era proposal to end the practice of paying subminimum wages...

United StatesEmployment and HR
Charles McDonald, III
Charles McDonald, III
Zachary V. Zagger
Zachary V. Zagger
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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is withdrawing a Biden-era proposal to end the practice of paying subminimum wages to workers with certain disabilities after determining that the agency lacks statutory authority under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to unilaterally terminate the practice.

Quick Hits

  • The WHD is withdrawing a December 2024 proposal to eliminate subminimum wage certificates for workers with disabilities.
  • The agency, at the direction of the Trump administration, cited a lack of statutory authority to unilaterally terminate the program.

On July 7, 2025, the WHD published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the withdrawal of a proposed rule published on December 4, 2025, that would have phased out the practice of issuing certificates under Section 14(c) of the FLSA to allow employers to pay subminimum wages to certain workers with disabilities.

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