Kansas lawmaker says disabled workers would 'rot at home' if employers can't pay lower wage

A state lawmaker doubled down Thursday on saying people with disabilities "really can't do anything" and that they "will rot at home" if they don't work for employers allowed to pay less than minimum wage.

Rep. Sean Tarwater, R-Stilwell, made the original comments during a Tuesday meeting of the House commerce committee, which he chairs. They came amid debate over HB 2275, dealing with tax credits for sheltered workshops, which employ people with developmental, physical or mental impairments, typically with labor standard exemptions.

On Thursday, Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities executive director Sara Hart Weir condemned Tarwater's comments as "mockery" and "derogatory." Disability Rights Center of Kansas executive director Rocky Nichols said Tarwater's comments were "both hurtful and simply not true," and asked him to apologize and "correct his misstatements."

"I think that those people owe me an apology," Tarwater told The Capital-Journal. "They owe those companies an apology. If there's an apology to be made here, it's by them."

What did Kansas Rep. Sean Tarwater say about people with disabilities?

InterHab, which supported the bill, contends it will "spur additional employment opportunities for Kansans with disabilities via an available tax credit for businesses that purchase goods and services from vendors that hire this chronically underemployed population."

Opponents at the Disability Rights Center of Kansas and the Self Advocate Coalition of Kansas argued that tax credits should not be used to benefit entities that are legally allowed to pay less than the minimum wage.

"Paying people with disabilities less than minimum wage is bad enough," testified Mike Burgess, of DRC. "Allowing nonprofits that pay people with disabilities less than minimum wage to benefit from this tax credit program adds insult to the injuries Kansans with disabilities have already suffered."

Tarwater during the meeting condemned the groups for "dragging these work shelter programs through the mud."

"These shelters do perform a good function for these 'disabilitied' individuals," he said. "They are people that really can’t do anything, and if you do away with programs like that, they will rot at home. There is no place for them to go.

"They’re taken care of. They’re fed. They have a place to go and be functionable and they’re happy," Tarwater said of people with disabilities at sheltered workshops.

Kansas legislator stands by comments about disabled workers

"People with disabilities, including individuals with significant disabilities, have amazing talents," said Nichols, of Disability Rights Center of Kansas. "Kansans with disabilities make substantial contributions in our state. With the right services and supports, they can make even more contributions."

He said people with disabilities who aren't in sheltered workshops don't "rot at home" but rather "thrive" in their communities and work jobs that pay minimum wage or higher.

Tarwater stood by his comments.

"These are for severely disabled individuals that can't work anywhere else. They wouldn't qualify to work for minimum wage anywhere, but they need a place to go," he said. "It's somewhat of a social event. They do a little bit of work. They get paid for it. They're cared for.

"These employees actually cost more than a less disabled individual that would be paid minimum wage somewhere else."

Tarwater conceded that there are examples from other states where people at sheltered workshops are not treated "correctly" but said that does not happen in Kansas.

Nichols disagreed.

"Many people with disabilities tell us that they feel like they are wasting their talents when they are working in a sheltered workshop, often for pennies an hour," Nichols said. "In fact, they tell us that they feel trapped or stuck in the sheltered workshop that pays them less than minimum wage, even though many of those same workshops have lucrative contracts with businesses."

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Tensions flare over Kansas bill on sheltered workshop tax credit