A bill to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, to require that wages based on individual productivity be paid to handicapped workers employed under certificates issued by the Secretary of Labor.
Public Law 99-486 · S. 2884 · 99th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Ronald Reagan (R) on Oct 16, 1986 · Labor and Employment
Sponsor: Sen. Howard Metzenbaum (D-OH)
Cosponsors (13): Sen. Don Nickles, Sen. Orrin Hatch,
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateVoice vote
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to direct the Secretary of Labor, in order to prevent curtailment of employment opportunities, to provide special certificates for the employment, at less than the minimum wage, of individuals (including those employed in agriculture) whose earning or productive capacity is impaired by age, physical or mental deficiency, or injury.
Requires that, under such certificates, individuals be paid wages which are: (1) lower than the applicable minimum wage; (2) commensurate with those paid to similarly located and employed nonhandicapped workers; and (3) related to the individual's productivity.
Requires employers to assure that they will periodically review and adjust such wages in a specified manner.
Sets forth procedures for administrative review of such wages.
Committees
The record shows no committee referral for this bill.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 7 actions.
- Oct 16, 1986Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 99-486.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Oct 7, 1986PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
- Oct 1, 1986FloorFloor · Passed House by Voice Vote.
- FloorFloor · Called up by House by Unanimous Consent.
- Sep 27, 1986FloorFloor · Introduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Voice Vote.
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.