How Businesses Get Away with Paying Below the Minimum Wage
Under a little-known regulation called 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, businesses can apply for permits to pay disabled employees well below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. In extreme cases employers can pay mere pennies to their employees. A 2012 report from the National Council on Disability, tells the account of an Ohio woman whose first paycheck was only 38 cents. With the presidential election approaching and the political climate heating up changing 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act will become a popular topic.
See "How Businesses Get Away with Paying Below the Minimum Wage", Sara Luterman, Vox, March 16, 2020