Latest news with #TomYoung
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio bill would require employers to pay people with disabilities minimum wage
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – While federal law allows employers to pay some individuals with disabilities less than minimum wage, Ohio lawmakers are attempting to eliminate the practice in the state. House Bill 225, sponsored by Reps. Dontavius Jarrells (D-Columbus) and Tom Young (R-Washington Twp.), seeks to phase out subminimum wages for employees with disabilities over a five-year period. Indoor park with 'waterless slides' opens first Ohio location in Columbus 'This bipartisan legislation is about dignity,' Jarrells said at a hearing for the bill in May. 'It's about economic opportunity and it's about making sure every Ohioan, regardless of ability, has the right to fair wages and the chance to contribute meaningfully to their communities.' Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 permits employers to pay workers whose disabilities impact their productivity less than the federal hourly minimum wage of $7.25, if they obtain a certificate from the U.S. Department of Labor. The practice is intended to prevent the restriction of employment opportunities for those with disabilities, according to the department. Introduced in April, the bill would require employers who hold a certificate to submit a plan regarding phasing out subminimum wage to the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities. The plan would have to be submitted within 15 months of the bill's effective date. Under the legislation, the state would assist employers with implementing their plans. Over the five-year transition period, the state would also be required to gather, monitor and publicly report the progress of the phase-out. Unsolved Ohio: Who killed Amy Jo Nelson? Family wants answers in 2017 homicide The bill underwent three hearings in the House's Commerce and Labor Committee in May, where more than 40 people testified in support of the bill. 'Paying people with disabilities less than minimum wage devalues their labor and reinforces harmful stereotypes that their work is worth less,' said Justin Blumhorst with the disability support organization Capabilities. 'Many people with disabilities perform as well as or better than their non-disabled peers when given the proper support and accommodations.' Seven spoke out against the legislation, including Brittany Stiltner with Sandco Industries, a nonprofit that provides employment skills training to people with developmental disabilities. 'At Sandco, the 14(c) certificate allows us to provide customized, supportive employment opportunities to individuals who may not be able to succeed in a traditional competitive work environment,' Stiltner said in written testimony. 'Phasing out this option entirely would eliminate opportunities for people who depend on it – individuals whose stories too often go unheard in policy conversations.' In Ohio, 41 businesses have obtained federal 14(c) certificates, most of which are nonprofit agencies that 'provide rehabilitation and employment for people with disabilities,' often in a 'sheltered' setting, according to the Labor Department. Intel executive explains why Ohio plant will need to fight for Intel's business Jarrells introduced a similar bill last April, but it only received one hearing and did not progress to the point of receiving a vote. Sixteen states have already legislated or initiated the phase-out of subminimum wages, according to Jarrells. In December, the Labor Department proposed phasing out the practice nationally over three years. The agency has not provided an update on the status of the proposal since. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
USC Aiken breaks ground on new Cyber Integration Center
AIKEN, S.C. (WJBF) — Big changes are coming to USC Aiken. The school's getting a major cyber training hub. USC Aiken is breaking ground on a new Cyber Integration Center cost $44 million — the Guard's biggest project since World War II. It's part of a $145 million cybersecurity upgrade in the region. It's been more than 10 years in the making. 'So after almost two years, it was actually 22 months of work that our delegation put into this, we were able to secure over $169 million for investments from the (plutonium) settlement that our colleagues in the General Assembly approved in June of 2022. And the lieutenant Governor and Governor McMaster supported us.' Sen. Tom Young shared. The Cyber Integration Center will support defense, training, research, and workforce be built next to the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative on the school's former ball fields. 'This project promises to be a platform for human and technological advancement focused on education, workforce development, prototyping, and education,' South Carolina National Guard Adj. Gen. Maj. Gen. Robin B. Stilwell said. More than 400 cybersecurity students will get hands-on training in the center's student-run Regional Security Operations Center—one of only a few in the nation. 'RSOC provides cybersecurity protection services not only for the university, but to underserved partners such as school districts, nonprofits, and rural infrastructure,' USC Aiken Chancellor Dr. Daniel Heimmermann revealed. Leaders want to train the next generation of cyber pros—and keep them in South Carolina. 'My commitment to you is that we'll continue to guide that, continue to send that message so that here in the US we can cultivate and really here in South Carolina the best and brightest to go into AI and cybersecurity right here in our amazing institutions,' Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette said. 'This energy of what's happening in cyber operations and cybersecurity, in partnership with academia, with industry, with the active guard and reserve is something unique and something that is significantly contributing to our national security,' Commanding Officer of the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence Maj. Gen. Ryan M. Janovic added. Construction is expected to wrap up in 2026. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
More than 700 people submitted opponent testimony against controversial Ohio higher education bill
Hundreds of students protested against Senate Bill 1 on Ohio State's campus on March 4, 2025. (Photo by Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal). More than 700 college students, faculty, and staff submitted opponent testimony against a massive Ohio higher education bill that would significantly change colleges and universities. Fourteen people testified against Ohio Senate Bill 1 for three hours during the Ohio House Higher Education and Workforce Committee meeting Tuesday morning. Committee Chair Tom Young, R-Washington Twp., enforced a hard stop at 12:10 p.m. 'If you pass this bill, you sow the seeds of a mass exodus of university students, leaving the economy, workforce, health, and reputation of the state of Ohio worse off than how you found it,' said Sabrina Estevez, an Ohio State University student. Senate Bill 1 would ban diversity and inclusion efforts, prevent faculty from striking, set rules around classroom discussion, create post-tenure reviews, put diversity scholarships at risk, shorten university board of trustees terms from nine years down to six years, and require students take an American history course, among other things. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Regarding classroom discussion, it would set rules around topics involving 'controversial beliefs' such as climate policies, electoral politics, foreign policy, diversity and inclusion programs, immigration policy, marriage, or abortion. S.B. 1 would only affect Ohio's public universities. State Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, introduced S.B. 1, which passed the Ohio Senate last month. Those who testified Tuesday talked about the bill's strike ban, tenure review, collective bargaining, classroom discussion regulations, and the diversity and inclusion ban. 'S.B. 1 is a censorship bill,' said David Jackson, president of Bowling Green State University's American Association of University Professors chapter. 'The bill, full of contradictions, will leave stakeholders wondering: What can I say? What can't I say?' Jackson also talked about how tenure protects academic freedom. 'Professors with academic freedom are the best thing that students have available to them, because it causes universities and faculty to be innovative in terms of teaching and research,' he said. 'The chilling effect that would be caused … would be bad, not just for the faculty members, but for the students whom we serve.' State Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania, asked many of those who testified about striking on campus. 'Why do you think that faculty at our at our public universities can threaten to hold back students from graduating or earning their degree simply to have it as a bargaining tool in your negotiations?' Williams asked. University faculty strikes are rare in Ohio. Youngstown State University workers went on strike for a few days in 2020 over pay disputes and faculty at Wright State University went on strike for almost three weeks in January 2019 over pay disputes and health care. 'It is the only power that organized labor has in a bargaining process,' Jackson said. 'While strikes are vanishingly rare … the existence of those nuclear weapons, if you will, makes the parties work together and solve the problems that their campuses face, and that's why strikes rarely happen.' Among public employees, first responders and corrections officers are not able to strike in Ohio. 'The thing in common that those professions have is public safety,' state Rep. Beryl Brown Piccolantonio, D-Gahanna, said while questioning Ohio Education Association Vice President Jeff Wensing. 'I don't believe that faculty members of higher institutions fall into the category of police and fire and protecting public safety,' Wensing said. S.B. 1 is already affecting Ohio universities. 'Qualified, talented faculty have decided not to put their name in the hat for a search at some of our institutions because of a fear of what kind of environment they will be coming into,' Jackson said. John Plecnik, an associate professor of law at Cleveland State University, theorized S.B. 1 came from a faculty member or an administrator from the University of Michigan. 'There'd be no greater way to damage Ohio State or Ohio's public universities,' he said. University of Cincinnati Undergraduate Student President Madison Wesley shared testimonies from concerned students. 'One such student, from Appalachia, fears that the ripple effects of this bill could make it harder for students like her to pursue an education,' she said. 'A pre-med student recently expressed fears that the implications of this bill could negatively affect the accreditation of Ohio medical schools and, by extension, their future career.' Wesley also talked about how the bill poses a threat to Ohio higher education. 'This will diminish the value of our degrees and make it harder to attract and retain top talent in our state,' she said. Ohio State Professor Erynn Beaton said S.B. 1 is 'pulled from the Florida playbook.' Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law in 2022 that affects tenured faculty and another bill in 2023 banning the state's public colleges and universities from spending money on diversity and inclusion programs. 'I personally know several faculty who have left Southern states due to the legislative environment,' Beaton said. Ohio State Associate Professor Ashley Hope Pérez said she used to look forward to her two sons attending public universities in Ohio, but not anymore. 'S.B. 1 undermines every Ohioan's right to an effective and complete education,' she said. 'It also endangers students' competitiveness in a rapidly changing professional landscape.' S.B. 1 has faced heavy opposition since being introduced in January. Hundreds of students, faculty, staff and alumni protested against the bill last week at Ohio State University. More than 800 people submitted opponent testimony against the bill when it was in the Senate committee. Ohio House Democrats bombarded Cirino with questions about his bill during last week's sponsor testimony. Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
