Advocates Want Mentally Disabled Included in Minimum Wage Hike

The fact that they often can't contribute nearly as much labor is apparently not relevant

More than a dozen advocacy groups are urging President Barack Obama to include mentally disabled workers in his call to raise the federal minimum wage for employees of government contractors.

The groups, including the National Organization on Disability and the National Down Syndrome Congress, said Tuesday they are concerned that Obama's plan for an executive order raising wages to $10.10 an hour won't cover many disabled people who now earn less than the current federal minimum of $7.25 an hour.

Thousands of disabled workers are employed by government contractors under a federal program that allows companies to pay a subminimum wage to those with intellectual or developmental disabilities.