Task Force on Eliminating Subminimum Wages meeting summary: March 8, 2022

· Participants listed below.

· Meeting documents with presentation slides providing more detail are available on the task force webpage.

Agenda items

1. Subminimum wage background summary and key information

2. Discussion and vote on extending task force meeting time

3. Task force path and meeting topics overview

4. Community engagement overview

5. Task force core principles exercise

6. Next steps

Action: Task force approves meetings of up to three hours

Task force members reviewed the timeline for their planning work and the work it needs to cover in a limited number of meetings. Members were asked to consider extending task force meeting times from two hours each to three hours. Discussion from members included the following suggestions, all of which will be adopted:

· For task force meetings of up tp three hours. The meetings should last three hours only if all three hours are needed. If not, the meetings should last less than three hours.

· With longer meetings, the agendas should include breaks.

· Task force members should engage in the meetings in ways that work for them, taking breaks or moving around as needed. This is true for any meeting, regardless of how long the meeting is.

· Because the three-hour meetings will extend over the traditional lunch hour, meeting presentations should take place during that lunch time so that members can eat if they wish while watching and listening to the presentations.

Task force members engaged in a roll call vote on whether to allow meetings of up to three hours as needed:

· All 15 of the members present voted in favor of meetings of up to three hours as needed.

Karen Gaides of Management Analysis and Development (MAD) said task force members will talk at another meeting about the voting and decision-making processes to use for task force recommendations and other actions. At that time, members will consider whether to use a super majority for voting and how to capture and present dissent.

Action: Task force identifies core principles during session exercise

The project team from Public Sector Consultants (PSC) led an interactive session for task force members. Members answered the question: What core principles guide the task force members work with each other and with others who are affected by subminimum wages?

Members offered the following ideas for their initial list of task force core principles, listed here in the order that these principles were shared. PSC will seek additional guidance on these core principles through a task force work group on engagement and communications.

· Honesty

· Compassion, empathy

· Curiosity

· Patience

· Be respectful

· Show up authentically

· Representation, inclusion

· Mindful of purpose, keep the goal in mind (a plan for what's needed for the elimination of subminimum wages)

· Transparency

· Guided by disability justice principles

· Accessibility beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act

· Meet all people's accessibility needs

· Listen to understand

· Develop meaningful recommendations with actionable steps

· Responsibility

· Anti-racist and anti-ableist

· Responsibility to fairness

· Problem solving

· Ensure we're reaching disabled population in ways that work for them

· Person-centered planning

· Acknowledge and be aware of privilege

· Openness to challenging each other and being challenged when we make mistakes.

Presentations, questions, discussions and notes

Subminimum wage background summary and key information

Jake Granholm of MAD presented a short version of the subminimum wage overview that Ryan Merz from the Disability Services Division (DSD) of Minnesota’s Department of Human Services (DHS) offered to interested members March 4. Jake’s slides and comments covered background on subminimum wages and federal policy, concerns with subminimum wages, alternatives to subminimum wages, concerns with eliminating subminimum wages, national trends on subminimum wages and Minnesota data.

Questions and clarifications:

· A task force member asked if task force members could participate in research interviews planned with officials from other states. MAD said it would ask for approval from those officials to record and share the interviews with task force members.

· A question about public comments to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission in favor of continuing 14(c) subminimum wages, gathered for the commission’s 2020 report, and a question about exceptions in Texas to its elimination of subminimum wages were addressed outside the meeting in follow-up emails.

Task force path and meeting topics overview

Jake of MAD, when reviewing the timeline for task force work, said the April meeting will focus on identifying benefits and challenges to eliminating subminimum wages, a topic required of the task force from the Legislature. The discussion of benefits and challenges also will help the task force identify areas to explore at future meetings and issues to address through proposed planning steps and solutions. Jake said future meetings likely will include guests and task force members who can talk with the task force about their experiences and share their knowledge.

In addition, Jake noted the following list of responsibilities for task force members and invited feedback and additions:

· Attend scheduled meetings

· Complete assignments on time

· Contribute to overall goal of the task force and collaborate in seeking solutions

· Examine, analyze and synthesize information, especially input from community engagement

· Give input to final legislative report with recommendations for action

· Serve as liaison to member's organization; inform agency and organization leadership of task force progress (as applicable).

Questions and clarifications:

· A task force member asked about getting information about possible task force topics, including benefits and challenges to eliminating subminimum wages. Jake said MAD would compile a summary memo with initial information about benefits and challenges and would share it with task force members ahead of the April meeting. He said MAD would produce primers and briefs, too, for other task force topics ahead of future meetings.

· A task force member asked about assignments. Jake said these will often be to read through materials, such as primers and briefs, in advance of task force meetings. MAD will email documents to task force members.

· A task force member asked that primers and briefs from MAD include source citations. Matt Kane from MAD said MAD will use footnotes with website links, such as the ones in the brief with initial information about subminimum wages.

· A task force member asked why the state asked a task force to look at subminimum wages. Task force co-chair Jillian Nelson, who was involved in the development of the legislation to establish the task force, said self-advocates among people with disabilities, as well as others, sought a task force to plan around elimination of subminimum wages. They were concerned about people who might be left without jobs if subminimum wages are eliminated by the state Legislature, Congress or the courts. The task force was established to make sure there is a plan in place, she said. Another task force member noted that there has been a push in the state Legislature to eliminate subminimum wages but also a push to keep them.

Community engagement overview

Beth Grube from DSD at DHS talked about a community engagement, education and communications effort as part of the task force work. She introduced a team from Public Sector Consultants that will help the task force with this: Scott Dzurka, Melissa Jimison and Erin Lammers.

The PSC consultants provided background about their consulting firm, cited its past work in human services and with the state of Minnesota and discussed plans for outreach, marketing and communications. Specifically, PSC noted plans for an Engagement and Communications Workgroup for the task force and invited task force members to volunteer to participate in that workgroup. Plans call for two workgroup meetings in March, a three-hour one and a two-hour one, plus a two-hour meeting in April. Based on task force input during the planning process, PSC will determine the appropriate types and mix of tools to use at what level to implement the plan.

PSC will bring findings back to the task force for information, feedback and decisions. PSC will listen to task force members and outline strategies for engagement and communications, adjusting them as needed. Engagement and communication with the public will come after planning work in March, April and May.

Questions and clarifications:

A task force member asked what the task force would do between the time it completes its report for the Legislature on Feb. 15, 2023, and its March 31, 2024, end date. Lesli Kerkhoff of DSD said it is not known what work the task force might carry out after submitting its report, if any, but that requests or action by the Legislature might lead to more that the task force could do in that period through March 31, 2024.

Questions and clarifications:

A task force member asked how PSC will connect with communities of color for engagement and communications. Scott said PSC is keeping equity in mind and will use an equity lens to make sure all are included. The task force member urged PSC to include people of color beyond middle class people, so include those who are poor, hard to employ and earning subminimum wages. Scott said PSC will reach out to people across a range of important demographics.

Another task force member asked if the engagement and communications project budgeted for accessibility when it comes to engagement and communications tools. Scott said yes and noted that PSC has staff that build accessibility into project websites, too. A task force member urged PSC to consider accessibility efforts for people with disabilities beyond those in the ADA categories, so including the neuro-diverse community and those with intellectual challenges. Beth noted the importance of guidance from task force members to make sure this is done right.

Next steps: April 12, meeting, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. online

Emails and links to come. In advance of the meeting, MAD will share a memo on benefits and barriers to eliminating subminimum wages.

Participants

Task force members present:

· Val Barnes

· Larissa Beck

· Sara Ellstra

· Brittanie Hernandez-Wilson

· Amanda Jensen-Stahl

· Alex Junge

· Michelle Kamenov

· Debbie Luther

· Chris McVey

· Jillian Nelson

· Lisa Parteh

· Kristina Petronko

· Lori Schluttenhofer

· Raquel Sidie-Wagner

· Andrea Zuber

Others:

· Karen Gaides, MAD

· Jake Granholm, MAD

· Matt Kane, MAD

· Scott Dzurka, PSC

· Melissa Jimison, PSC

· Erin Lammers, PSC