Biden Administration Moves to End the Subminimum Wage

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the employment of people on the autism spectrum.

Jacqueline Alemany at WP:

The Biden administration is moving to phase out a Depression-era program that allows some employers to pay disabled workers far less than minimum wage, fulfilling one of President Joe Biden’s campaign promises and triggering what is likely to become a fierce legal and political battle.

The decision is the culmination of the Department of Labor’s year-long review of the program, which opponents have criticized as a form of discrimination and supporters have described as providing disabled people with hard-to-find opportunities for steady wages and meaningful work. The agency will issue a proposed rule Tuesday that would immediately halt the issuance of certificates that allow employers to pay less than minimum wage and institute a three year phaseout period for employers that already hold those certificates.

Before it can take effect, the rule will be subject to a public comment period, possible legal challenges and the scrutiny of the incoming Trump administration. The public comment period is expected to conclude on Jan. 17, 2025, just days before Donald Trump takes office. His administration will have to evaluate and respond to those comments, and then issue a final rule — or withdraw the rule entirely.

Labor Department press release:

The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a proposed rule that would phase out the issuance of certificates allowing employers to pay some workers with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage, currently $7.25 per hour, for the work they perform.

The rule proposes to gradually eliminate certificates employers can apply for under Section 14(c) of Fair Labor Standards Act that allow them to pay certain workers with disabilities subminimum wages. The department proposes to discontinue the issuance of new certificates and establish a three-year phase-out period for employers with existing certificates once a final rule becomes effective.

“This proposal demonstrates the Biden-Harris administration’s dedication to good jobs for workers with disabilities,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “In the decades since Section 14(c) was included in the Fair Labor Standards Act, there have been significant legal and policy developments that have dramatically expanded employment opportunities and rights for individuals with disabilities. With this proposal, the department expects that many workers currently paid subminimum wages under Section 14(c) will move into jobs that pay full wages, which will improve their economic wellbeing and strengthen inclusion for people with disabilities in the workforce.”

The proposed rule would do the following:

• Cease the department’s issuance of new Section 14(c) certificates starting on the effective date of a final rule.
• Institute a three-year period beginning on the effective date of a final rule for employers holding existing Section 14(c) certificates to gradually cease paying subminimum wages to workers with disabilities.

RFK Jr. Talked to Vaccine Scientists, But Disregarded Them

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.    Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.

A number of posts discussed Trump's support for the discredited notion.

 Another leading anti-vaxxer is presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.  He has repeatedly compared vaccine mandates to the Holocaust.  Rolling Stone and Salon retracted an RFK article linking vaccines to autism.  He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen."

He is now Trump's nominee to head HHS.

As G.K. Chesterton wrote, a madman "is in the clean and well-lit prison of one idea: he is sharpened to one painful point."

Vivian Salama, Sadie Gurman, and C. Ryan Barber at WSJ:

[Dr. Paul] Offit said he walked Kennedy through a slew of studies, which Offit said didn’t show any harm from mercury in vaccines. He noted that by 2001, the U.S. had removed a preservative containing mercury from vaccines for young children as a precautionary measure. Still, Kennedy wrote a 2005 article linking vaccines to autism in Rolling Stone and Salon, which both publications later retracted.

A 2015 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association of the health records of 95,000 children showed the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine didn’t increase the risk of autism.
...

Vaccine scientists have met with Kennedy and answered his questions on multiple occasions, people familiar with the conversations said, explaining that all vaccines go through safety testing ahead of their release and are also monitored after. Some shots for children, if tests in adults show that they safely prevent deadly diseases, don’t undergo placebo testing, because medical experts consider it unethical to withhold proven lifesaving treatment.

Vaccinologist Peter Hotez, who has a daughter with autism, also spoke to Kennedy in a series of phone calls in 2017—conversations initially brokered by Fauci.

“He had already set it in his mind that vaccines cause autism,” Hotez said, adding: “He didn’t have a lot of interest in the science, and wasn’t willing to bend.”

Trump to Nominate Antivax Profiteer to Head the FBI

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze  the bizarre theories surrounding vaccines.

Trump will nominate Kash Patel to head the FBI. In April Isaac Schorr reported at Mediaite:

Kash Patel, who served as chief of staff to the acting secretary of defense in former President Donald Trump’s administration and is widely expected to be tapped for a national security role in a prospective second term, is hawking pills that claim to reverse the effects of the Covid vaccines.

Patel captioned his post, “Mrna detox, reverse the vaxx n get healthy with @warrioressentials,” and tacked on a promotional graphic touting Warrior Essentials’ “Spike Protein Recovery System.”

“You were immune to the propaganda, but are you immune to the shedders,” reads the graphic. The system is comprised of three separate pill types that the company insists removes “toxins” from your cells, repairs “circulatory health,” and finally, restores “immunity and DNA stability.”

“Shedding,” according to Warrior Essentials, refers to a claim of “spike protein transmission from the vaccinated to the unvaccinated.”

“It’s important to understand we may all be at risk from spike proteins and covid vaccines, even if we are unvaccinated,” insists the pill company. “Studies have shown viral shedding of spike proteins is happening and it appears the messenger RNA is transferring from the vaccinated to the unvaccinated. This means the unvaccinated can be at risk for the same complications and negative effects as those who took the shots.” Vaccine shedding is considered a myth by most medical practitioners.