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Advocates in one state are forging ahead after lawmakers opted not to join more than a dozen other states in ending the practice of allowing workers with disabilities to be paid subminimum wage.
DULUTH — Josh Haug patiently folded each towel from a massive green bin at Essentia Health's fitness center in Duluth on Tuesday, stacking them in neat piles. The 41-year-old, who has an intellectual disability, spends two shifts a week laundering and delivering clean towels to gym-goers — and earning more than minimum wage. It's a dramatic departure from the nearly two decades when he ...
Merrick Inc., a nonprofit located in Vadnais Heights, is expanding its program later this fall.
NOVEMBER 8, 2015 — 12:00AM NUMBING WORK Scott Rhude picked up trash near a landfill in Willmar, Minn. He makes $2 an hour and dreams of a better job. WILLMAR, MINN. In a field on the outskirts of town, a man with Down syndrome is spending another day picking up garbage. He wears faded pants, heavy gloves, a bright yellow vest and a name tag that says “Scott Rhude.” His job is futile. Prairie winds blow debris from a landfill nearby faster than he and his co-workers can collect it. In the gray sky overhead, a turkey vulture circles in wide loops. Rhude, 33, earns $2 an hour. He lon...