New York disability rights advocates are calling on state lawmakers to take action to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
The push comes after a report from the New York State Comptroller’s Office highlighted significant disparities for workers with disabilities, despite progress in making workplaces more accessible. Lawmakers are now considering several proposals, including legislation that would increase the number of certified rehabilitation counselors.
Dr. Sharon McLennon-Wier, executive director of the Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York, said those counselors can play an important role.
“These are the mental-health providers that work with specifically people with disabilities,” she said, “and trying to deal with occupational barriers, and also dealing with biopsychosocial adjustments to disability that would impede someone’s ability to work.”
She said the counselors can also help people with disabilities review career options.
Other legislation being considered would aim to reduce poverty among people with disabilities. Data show that 25 percent of New Yorkers with disabilities lived below the poverty line in 2024. One proposal would eliminate the sub-minimum wage when it is based on age or disability, though broader efforts are underway to end sub-minimum wages for many workers statewide.
Advocates say nonprofits working on these issues are also facing financial pressure. Many organizations are waiting on payments from the state, with some reporting they are owed funding for more than a year. Some nonprofits have taken out interest-bearing loans to stay afloat, while others have absorbed the added costs.
Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill that would have reinforced deadlines for state reimbursements, but McLennon-Wier said timely payments are critical for nonprofits that provide services communities rely on.
“There are some state contractors that are a year to two years behind,” she said. “Normal nonprofits cannot sustain that, and this is why they go out of business. It’s a real deficit for stakeholders that depend on these nonprofits within the communities to provide services local municipalities are not providing.”
According to the State Comptroller’s data, more than 5,000 contracts between New York State and nonprofit organizations were processed late.
