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

· Location: Online meeting (Zoom)

· Participants listed below.

· Go to the task force webpage. and select the meetings tab to review the formal meeting agenda, presentation slides, and any other relevant documents from the meeting. (Sometimes postings to the Department of Human Services website are delayed.)

Main meeting topic

The task force reviewed its 22 recommendations to the legislature and voted to approve 17 of them for its report to the legislature. Task force members raised issues with the wording of five recommendations. Task force members volunteered to work on them so that the task force can review and vote on new wording at its Dec. 13 meeting.

In addition, the DHS Disability Services Division (DSD) told task force members they would receive a survey via email asking for their input on several key topics related to the second duty of the task force from the legislature: “consult with and advise the commissioner of human services on statewide plans for limiting subminimum wages in medical assistance home and community-based services waivers under Minn. Stat. §256B.092 and Minn. Stat. § 256B.49.”

Key agenda items

1. Voting on recommendations.

2. Consultation to DHS-Limiting subminimum wages.

3. Task force report to legislature.

4. Task force updates.

Task force voting on recommendations to include in report to the legislature

Note: Review task force presentation slides 14-49 for the complete language for draft recommendations. The presentation slides will be posted on the task force webpage. Task force members raised issues with some wording in five of the recommendations. The task force set these five recommendations aside for revisions and a task force vote at the Dec. 13 meeting. For the rest of the recommendations, task force members engaged in only limited discussion either to note that a correction or clarification was needed in the text—changes that didn’t prevent the task force from voting on the recommendation—or to ask clarifying questions about how certain recommendations differ from certain others.

Recommendations approved by the task force for its report to the legislature

Recommendations necessary to eliminate subminimum wages or that need to be in place when subminimum wages are no longer allowed

· Recommendation 2: Plan for monitoring statewide progress on ending subminimum wages and tracking employment outcomes for people with disabilities. (Slide 16 — Unanimous approval of the recommendation.)

· Recommendation 3: The Minnesota State Legislature should allocate transition resources to support a phasing-out of subminimum wages in Minnesota. (Slide 17 — Unanimous approval of the recommendation.)

· Recommendation 4: Provide work and benefits education and supports to every individual currently receiving subminimum wages. (Slide 18 — Unanimous approval of the recommendation.)

· Recommendation 5: Strengthening day support services (Slide 20 — Unanimous approval of the recommendation.)

· Recommendation 8: Communication and education to build belief. (Slide 25 — Unanimous approval of the recommendation.)

Recommendations that improve the system and advance competitive integrated employment for people with disabilities, including some broad ideas that the task force hopes are implemented in the long run

· Recommendation 11: DEED and DHS will work on employment first policy and program options to eliminate gaps in services in the transition from DEED-Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VSR)/State Services for the Blind (SSB) funded job placement services to waiver funded employment support services. (Slide 32 — Unanimous approval of the recommendation.)

· Recommendation 12: Schools shall require that special education teachers complete annual professional development training on best practices in partnering with DEED VRS and/or SSB and waiver services for transition-aged youth during opening/workshop week at the beginning of each school year. (Slide 35 — Unanimous approval of the recommendation.)

· Recommendation 13: Create an employer communications and engagement coordinated strategy and plan. (Slide 36 — Unanimous approval of the recommendation.)

· Recommendation 14: DEED will develop a certification program for Minnesota businesses to receive training on hiring people with disabilities, creating inclusive workplaces, and providing accommodations and universal design best practices. (Slide 37 — Unanimous approval of the recommendation.)

· Recommendation 15: Expand training for employment support professional training. (Slide 39 — Unanimous approval of the recommendation.)

· Recommendation 16: Embed benefits and work education throughout an individual's process. (Slide 40 — Unanimous approval of the recommendation.)

· Recommendation 17: Build benefits planning professional competencies across the system. (Slide 41 — Unanimous approval of the recommendation.)

· Recommendation 18: (with changes to come). Fully fund the competitive workforce factor and update inflationary data. (Slide 43 — Unanimous approval of the recommendation.)

· Recommendation 19: (with changes to come). Implement the proposed Best Life Alliance Legislation and the priorities of the Direct Care Workforce Stakeholder Group. (Slide 44 — Unanimous approval of the recommendation.)

· Recommendation 20: Interagency employment supports alignment study (Slide 45 — Unanimous approval of the recommendation.)

· Recommendation 21: Case management: additional training, cap on caseloads, and change to yearly plan review requirements (Slide 47 — 15 approving the recommendation and 1 not approving.)

· Recommendation 22: Establish a five-year Employment Resource Specialist Grant Program for lead agencies in Minnesota. (Slide 48 — Unanimous approval of the recommendation.)

For more detailed language on each of these recommendations, review the presentation slides found on the task force website.

Recommendations approved but with edits decided upon or forthcoming

Recommendations that improve the system and advance competitive integrated employment for people with disabilities, including some broad ideas that the task force hopes are implemented in the long run

Recommendation 12: Schools shall require that special education teachers complete annual professional development training on best practices in partnering with DEED VRS and/or SSB and waiver services for transition-aged youth during opening/workshop week at the beginning of each school year. (Unanimous approval, as noted above.)

· Issue raised: For the bullet about requiring schools to report on paid and unpaid work experience for students starting in grade nine, schools won’t know about work experiences unless they are part of a school program.

· Language change: “Starting in grade nine, require school districts to annually report to MDE the percentage of students who are eligible for special education services and who participated in paid or unpaid work experience [ADDED CLAUSE:] that is part of a school program.” (Done)

Recommendation 15: Expand employment support professional training. (Unanimous approval, as noted above.)

· Issue raised: The language in the bullet about CES, CES+, CESP and ACRE is not accurate and needs to be corrected.

· Language change: “College of Employment Services (CES) online/on-demand coursework aligns with competency requirements for Minnesota’s waiver employment services. Online training can be helpful to train large number of people efficiently. Through CES+ there is an opportunity for learners to receive ACRE certification. The CES training is a good guide for obtaining CESP certification as well.” (Done)

Recommendations 18 and 19:

18 — Fully fund the competitive workforce factor and update inflationary data. (Unanimous approval, as noted above.)

19 — Implement the proposed Best Life Alliance legislation and the priorities of the Direct Care Workforce Stakeholder Group. (Unanimous approval, as noted above.)

· Issues raised: Much of what recommendation 19 says about the competitive workforce factor and DWRS overlaps with recommendation 18. So, recommendations 18 and 19 should be reviewed, simplified and merged on those overlapping points, with a revised recommendation 19 focused just on PCAs. (Use the language from slide 18 about “fully fund the competitive workforce factor.”) Move references to Better Life Alliance and its legislation from recommendation 19 to recommendation 18—and drop the bill numbers because they are from 2022 and therefore may be out of date for 2023. Leave the bottom parts of recommendation 19, about PCAs, as recommendation 19 and change the title as appropriate.

· Language change to come: Task force members who volunteered will offer revisions. (The task force approved these two recommendations with the understanding that the language for both would change based on the November 8 discussion.)

· Action: Proposed revisions from the task force who volunteered: Lori Schluttenhofer and Larissa Beck. Heidi Hamilton volunteered help from the DHS staff that works on the Disability Waiver Rate System.

Recommendation 21: Case management: additional training, cap on caseloads, and change to yearly plan review requirements. (Unanimous approval, as noted above.)

· Issue raised: The correct label for Amend 256B.49 is just that, not 256B.09.

· Language change: Correct the typo. (Done)

For more detailed language on each of these recommendations, review the presentation slides found on the task force website.

Recommendations set aside for final changes and a task force voting in December

Recommendations necessary to eliminate subminimum wages or that need to be in place when subminimum wages are no longer allowed

Recommendation 1: Repeal of Minn. Statute §177.28, Subdivision 5 and Minnesota R. 5200.0030. (Slide 15)

· Language that prompted concern: "An employer who is authorized to employ individuals with disabilities at subminimum wage pursuant to a special certificate issued under 29 U.S.C. 214(c) or in accordance with rules under Minnesota Statute §177.28, Subdivision 5 must pay minimum wages, as defined by Minn. Statute §177.24, to:

a) From January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024, not less than 60% of the individuals with disabilities the employer employs.

b) From January 1, 2025, to July 31, 2025, not less than 80% of the individuals with disabilities the employer employs."

· Issue raised: The recommendation's language about targets for the percentage of workers earning minimum wage could lead providers to hold people back from employment in order to hit those targets. Providers with 14c certificates raised this concern with a task force member. Better to set the targets based on reductions in the percentage of workers earning subminimum wages.

· Additional discussion: A task force member said there are lots of ways to set the target for phasing out the payment of subminimum wages. This approach in the recommendation was the way the one picked by the people who worked on this recommendation. In addition to the task force member who raised the issue, two other task force members suggested setting this aside for work on the targets.

· Task force members who will work on the revision: Lori Schluttenhofer, Larissa Beck and Jillian Nelson. Lori will offer language about an alternate way to set the targets. Task force will vote on the revised wording at its Dec. 13 meeting.

The Administration Review Committee had not suggested more work on this recommendation so there was no task force member who worked on changes between the October and November meetings.

Recommendation 6: Technical assistance to transform business models and funding supports. (Slide 21)

· Language that prompted concern: "6. Technical assistance to transform business models and funding supports: The task force recommends a phase out of sub-minimum wage over time with technical assistance provided to transform business models and funding supports toward the outcome of competitive integrated employment."

· Issue raised: The title for this recommendation and then the first paragraph repeat the ideas in Recommendation 3, so they should be dropped. Instead, come up with a new title to describe this recommendation and leave in the rest of the text about training professionals and training teachers and paraprofessionals.

· Additional discussion: Several task force members agreed that the title and first paragraph of Recommendation 6 repeat Recommendation 3 and all agreed this would be easy to fix Recommendation 6 focuses on training.

· Task force members who will work on the revision: Susan Fleurant, Michelle Kamenov and Andrea Zuber. Task force will vote on the revised wording at its Dec. 13 meeting. (Susan and Michelle worked on revisions to this recommendation between the October and November meetings.)

Recommendation 7: Providing information and education about services and supports. (Slide 22)

· Concern: Needs greater clarity for intended audience and for wording in general. Need to consider what exists already, and how this recommendation aligns with the Disability Hub.

· Additional discussion: A task force member said the recommendation is designed to be very broad. The recommendation relates to all services, so not just employment services. The idea is for a handbook that takes a full look at services for a broader community than just the 4,500 to 6,000 people in subminimum wage jobs, in order to make certain that the disability community understands all of the services.

· Task force members who will work on the revision: Heidi Hamilton, Jillian Nelson, Larissa Beck and Raquel Sidie-Wagner. (Larissa Beck, Jillian Nelson, Raquel Sidie-Wagner and Brittanie Hernandez-Wilson worked on revisions to this recommendation between the October and November meetings.)

Recommendations that improve the system and advance competitive integrated employment for people with disabilities, including some broad ideas that the task force hopes are implemented in the long run

Recommendation 9. Change fee schedules and allowable reimbursements under Medicaid waiver plans. (Slide 29)

· Language that prompted concern:

a) "Use the results from the 'Access to Waiver Transportation Used by Minnesota's Home and Community-Based Program Participants' study commissioned by the Minnesota Legislature in 2019, create equitable transportation frameworks statewide that meet the needs as laid out in the study."

b) "Increase the rate for employment exploration to match the other employment development service rates to encourage more providers to provide that service as a means of offering person-centered informed choice."

· Issues raised:

a) For language referencing the 'Access to Waiver Transportation' study, the bullet point puts too much emphasis on that 2019 study, and the situation for providers was different at that time than it is now.

b) For the language about employment exploration, there are situations when it makes more sense to provide day services than employment exploration, so the rates need to be structured to avoid pushing someone into employment exploration instead of day services, if day services make more sense.

· Additional discussion: A task force member said she wished these concerns had come up as the workgroup and the task force were developing this recommendation.

· Task force members who will work on the revision: Lori Schluttenhofer, Heidi Hamilton, Heidi Maghan, and Raquel Sidie-Wagner. Task force will vote on the revised wording at its Dec. 13 meeting. (Raquel Sidie-Wagner was the task force member who worked on revisions to this recommendation between the October and November meetings.)

Recommendation 10: Require by statute that schools provide DEED Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS) and/or State Services for the Blind (SSB) the names and contact information of transition-aged students with disabilities, and their parents/guardians, to ensure they receive information from VRS and/or SSB about available services. (Slide 31)

· Language that prompted concern: The language immediately above, taken from the start of the recommendation.

· Issue raised: Data privacy restrictions and concerns about privacy may block the information sharing that the recommendation says the state should require by statute. This recommendation for information sharing is a good one, but requiring that the agencies share names and contact information for transition-aged students and contact information for parents and guardians may be difficult under rules and restrictions. This is especially true for students who are minors.

· Additional discussion: People with the state's employment services and school staff share information now when working with each other at the local level to support people with disabilities. The requirements of the current data privacy protections create problems for this recommendation, and future privacy protections, if put in place, would, too.

· Task force members who will work on the revision: Michelle Kamenov, Chris McVey and Susan Fleurant. Task force will vote on the revised wording at its Dec. 13 meeting.(Michelle and Susan were the task force members who worked on revisions to this recommendation between the October and November meetings.)

For more detailed language on each of these recommendations, review the presentation slides found on the task force website.

Presentations to the task force

Consultation to DHS – Limiting subminimum wages

Ryan Merz from DSD reviewed task force Duty 2 from the legislature: “consult with and advise the commissioner of human services on statewide plans for limiting subminimum wages in medical assistance home and community-based services waivers under Minnesota Statutes, sections 256B.092 and 256B.49.” This is separate from the focus of the task force report, on eliminating by Aug. 1, 2025, the payment of subminimum wage.

DSD will share a survey that task force members can use to consult with DSD on topics important to limiting subminimum wages over the coming year. Specifically, Ryan said DSD will use the survey to ask task force members about these three topics:

· Department of Human Services (DHS) pursuing changes to Minnesota’s waiver plans to require competitive wages in any job position for which a person is receiving Employment Support Services

· DHS pursuing changes to Minnesota’s waiver plans to require competitive wages for any wages earned while a person is receiving Prevocational Services.

· Ideas for how DHS can increase monitoring and enforcement of a state waiver plan requirement.

· DSD and the DHS also will engage the task force in the future as new topics arise or if more clarity is needed, Ryan said.

Task force report to legislature

Matt Kane from Management Analysis and Development (MAD) talked about plans for the task force report to the legislature. MAD plans to share a preliminary draft of the report with task force members in time for the Dec.13 meeting so that they can react to the draft at that December meeting before voting on the report at the Jan. 10 meeting.

The report will include all the recommendations the task force approves, and it will focus on these recommendations. The recommendations make up the task force plan for phasing out subminimum wages. In addition to listing each recommendation, the report will also include ideas from the workgroups about timing for implementation, context drawn from workgroup and task force discussions, a match of the recommendations to the engagement themes they address and cost estimates for the recommendations when possible.

The report will also include supporting sections about the following: the task force, subminimum wages and their use in Minnesota, task force engagement efforts, benefits from ending subminimum wages, barriers to ending subminimum wages and objections to task force recommendations from individual task force members, if any.

Task force updates — Objections to recommendations and deciding if task force continues past March 2024

Karen from MAD gave the following updates:

· MAD will provide any task force member an opportunity to write out objections to a task force recommendation, if they have any. For the recommendations approved at the Nov. 8 meeting, MAD will gather objections from task force members between the November and December meetings. Objections in scope may be included in an objections section of the task force report or incorporated into the report as context for the recommendation.

· At their December meeting, task force members will need to decide if they should continue the task force past its March 31, 2024, end date. The legislature requires that this be noted in the task force report.

Oct. 11 Task Force Participants

Task force members present

· Larissa Beck

· Sara Ellstra

· Susan Fleurant

· Brittanie Hernandez-Wilson

· Amanda Jensen-Stahl

· Alex Junge

· Michelle Kamenov

· Kirk Langsjoen

· Debbie Luther

· Heidi Hamilton

· Heidi Maghan

· Chris McVey

· Jillian Nelson

· Lori Schluttenhofer

· Raquel Sidie-Wagner

· Andrea Zuber

Others

· Ryan Merz, DHS

· Karen Gaides, MAD

· Stephanie Heim, MAD

· Matt Kane, MAD