An act relating to repealing the Commissioner of Labor’s authority to recommend a subminimum wage for individuals with a disability

This bill (S.6) repeals a specific provision in Vermont law that allowed the Commissioner of Labor to recommend lower wages for workers with disabilities. It directly affects individuals with disabilities who may have been subject to subminimum wage recommendations under current law. The key mechanism is amending 21 V.S.A. § 385 to remove the Commissioner’s authority to "recommend a suitable scale of rates... for persons with disabilities, which may be less than the regular minimum wage." The change would eliminate the legal basis for such lower wage recommendations, requiring all workers to be paid at least the standard minimum wage. The bill does not create new wage requirements but removes an existing exception.