Alaskan bill signed requiring at least minimum wage for disabled workers

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - As of Tuesday, September 13, persons with disabilities in Alaska must now be paid a minimum wage or higher for their work.

In a press conference at the Alaska Special Olympics, Governor Mike Dunleavy signed into law Senate Bill 185, which passed the legislature in May.

According to a press release, the bill repeals an exemption which allowed those who are impaired by “physical or mental deficiency, age or injury” to receive a wage under the state’s minimum.

Among the speakers at the event was Heidi Lieb-Williams, chair of the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education, who said, “Thanks to all involved in making this historic moment happen today. This very moment is changing the future of all Alaskan communities and setting an example for all the world to see, for the whole nation to inspire to become, and right now, another vision is about to become reality.”

Alaska’s minimum wage currently stands at $10.34 an hour.

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