SB 55: "Dignity and Pay Act"; enact

Under current federal law, employers can get a certificate from the U.S. Department of Labor (under 29 U.S.C. Section 214(c)) that lets them pay workers with disabilities less than the minimum wage. Georgia law has also allowed the state labor commissioner to grant similar exemptions. This bill removes the state commissioner's authority to grant those exemptions and blocks Georgia employers from using the federal subminimum wage certificate to pay disabled workers less than the federal minimum wage. The bill includes a phase-out period for employers who already held a federal certificate as of July 1, 2025. From July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, those employers must pay affected workers at least half the federal minimum wage. Starting July 1, 2027, they can no longer use the certificate to pay below minimum wage at all. The law itself takes effect July 1, 2025.

• Repeals the Georgia labor commissioner's authority (O.C.G.A. § 34-4-4) to grant exemptions letting certain employers pay people with disabilities below minimum wage.
• Bars employers from using a federal subminimum wage certificate (29 U.S.C. Section 214(c)) to pay disabled workers less than the federal minimum wage going forward.
• Creates a temporary exception for employers who already held such a federal certificate as of July 1, 2025, letting them continue paying below minimum wage during a transition period.
• Requires those transitional employers to pay at least half the federal minimum wage from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.
• Ends the subminimum wage practice entirely for all Georgia employers starting July 1, 2027.
• Sets the overall effective date of the Act as July 1, 2025.

Workers with disabilities employed under federal subminimum wage certificates, employers (often sheltered workshops or similar organizations) that currently hold or seek those certificates, and the Georgia Department of Labor, which loses its authority to grant related state exemptions.

Employers who currently pay some workers with disabilities less than minimum wage under federal certificates will have to raise pay in stages, reaching at least the full minimum wage by mid-2027. This changes take-home pay for affected workers and compliance obligations for the businesses and organizations that employ them.

• Section 1 names the law the "Dignity and Pay Act."
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 34-4-4 by deleting the commissioner's exemption authority and marking the section "Reserved," removing that state-level mechanism entirely.
• Section 3 adds a new subsection (a.1) to O.C.G.A. § 34-6A-4 prohibiting use of the federal subminimum wage certificate, with a phased exception for employers already certified by July 1, 2025.
• Section 3 sets the transition schedule: at least half the federal minimum wage from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, and no subminimum wage use at all after July 1, 2027.
• Section 4 sets the Act's effective date as July 1, 2025.
• Section 5 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2025-07-01Effective Date
2. 2025-05-01Act 46
3. 2025-05-01Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
4. 2025-04-07Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
5. 2025-03-18House Passed/Adopted (House)
6. 2025-03-18House Third Readers (House)
7. 2025-03-13House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
8. 2025-03-06House Second Readers (House)

• Billy Hickman (R, SD-4)Primary sponsor
• Sonya Halpern (D, SD-39)
• Jason Esteves (D, SD-35)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-48)
• Drew Echols (R, SD-49)
• Elena Parent (D, SD-44)
• Clint Dixon (R, SD-45)
• Sharon Cooper (R, HD-45)

1. PassedSenate voteMarch 3, 2025

   51 yea, 3 nay (1 not voting, 1 excused)

   PASSAGE: Senate Vote #123

2. PassedHouse voteMarch 18, 2025

   163 yea, 2 nay (9 not voting, 6 excused)

   PASSAGE: House Vote #280

• disability rights
• minimum wage
• labor law
• workers with disabilities
• employment law