People with disabilities want to work, live independently, and be economically self-sufficient. Unfortunately, employment for people with disabilities continues to lag significantly compared to people without disabilities. Despite the undisputed fact that people with disabilities can work and want to work, people with disabilities are still much less likely to be employed (18% of people with disabilities in the United States are employed versus 62% of their non-disabled peers). For too many people with disabilities, the only employment option they are offered is work in segregated sheltered workshops, where they are isolated from co-workers without disabilities and
broader society and are legally paid pennies on the dollar under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).