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A safe space: Workers with disabilities find community and fair wages at Frank’s Place

Owner Frank Cerminaro and son Lucca pose at Frank's Place in Simpson.
Submitted by Frank Cerminaro
Owner Frank Cerminaro and son Lucca Cerminaro pose at Frank's Place in Simpson.

A psychologist told Frank and Kelly Cerminaro that their son Lucca, diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, would struggle to hold down a job, to graduate from high school, and that college was likely out of the question.

To help Lucca with social interactions, Cerminaro gave him a job at Frank's Place, his restaurant in Simpson, Lackawanna County.

Lucca Cerminaro, now 21 and a senior in college at Marywood University, has made Dean’s List several times and plans to pursue a master’s degree in history after he graduates with his bachelor's degree in the spring.

Both Lucca and his father credit the years spent working at the restaurant with where he is now.

“This is all definitely a part of it, getting out, getting your first job,” Frank Cerminaro said of his son’s achievements.

Soon after his son started at the restaurant as a teenager, word got around that Frank’s Place was a friendly working environment for people with intellectual disabilities.

“It's kind of created its own wheel now,” Cerminaro said. “I don't have to advertise for something. They just come in [and say], ‘Hey, you think he could help my grandson out or my son?’”

He values helping individuals with disabilities, knowing all the roadblocks his own son and family worked through.

And Frank’s Place pays all employees the same hourly wage.

“I don't pay them a discounted rate — which you can, and the government could pick up some,” Cerminaro said. “It's just easier to pay them for what they're worth, and they're definitely worth what we’re paying them.”

Cerminaro wants to show them that they are worth the same amount as any other employee.

“It belittles them when they get paid [subminimum wages,]" he said.

While some businesses in Pennsylvania still pay workers subminimum wages, Frank’s Place in Simpson will remain a place where workers with disabilities can earn as much as their colleagues and be treated with respect. The owner is happy to teach the workers life lessons while they wash dishes, take calls, deliver food and seat customers.

“This is part of school for them,” he said. “We're teaching them how to just get along in life.”

Subminimum wages

Subminimum wages are common practices for businesses that hire workers with disabilities. The government allows registered businesses to pay workers less than minimum wage. Businesses must have a 14(c) special minimum wage certification from the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division.

Pennsylvania has taken steps to phasing out subminimum wage, although it does still exist in the Commonwealth.

In 2018, the Employment First Act was enacted, meaning competitive integrated employment must be the first consideration for Pennsylvanians with disabilities that are enrolled in government programming.

Competitive integrated employment treats workers with disabilities the same as other workers, meaning they have the same pay and benefits as anyone else.

According to data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s July 2023 Wage and Hour report analyzed by the Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE), 44,434 individuals earned subminimum wage in the United States. That was a 64% decrease of subminimum wage earners since 2018.

Frank Bartoli is the CEO of PA Inclusive. He is in favor of phasing out subminimum wage.
Submitted by PA Inclusive
Frank Bartoli is the CEO of PA Inclusive. He is in favor of phasing out subminimum wage.

Subminimum wage came about in 1938 as a part of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Frank Bartoli, the CEO of PA Inclusive, said subminimum wages are outdated, since so much progress has been made in the disability community.

“At the time, [it] was progressive,” Bartoli said. “That's a long, long time ago. Since then, so many things have changed in the disability world, starting with the right to education, to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Our kids now with disabilities are educated in typical schools like everybody else. Back in the '30s, '40s, '50s, they were institutionalized.”

His organization directs people with disabilities towards competitive integrated employment and away from places with 14(c) certifications.

As a father of a daughter with Down Syndrome, he thinks subminimum wages are dehumanizing to workers with disabilities.

“The core issue is, how do we as a society view people with intellectual disabilities? Do we view them as our equals,” Bartoli said.

Bartoli knows that a common hesitation about phasing out subminimum wages is that paying workers with disabilities minimum wage could negatively impact their social security checks. He calls on legislators to clear this issue up so workers with disabilities can be treated the same as any other worker.

Legislative action

Bartoli applauded the efforts of outgoing U.S. Sen. Bob Casey to advocate for the disability community during his time in office.

In December, the Biden administration proposed a rule that would officially phase out subminimum wages. While legislation still has not been passed, Casey and his team are gratified to see their work acknowledged.

During his final days in office, Casey fought hard to make that proposed rule a law. While his bill did not end up passing, Casey hopes senators still in office will continue his work.

Submitted by Sen. Bob Casey's office
Sen. Bob Casey advocated for disability rights throughout his career in Congress.

“It's important, if we don't pass it, that after I leave, that the bipartisan support that I worked to achieve continues,” Casey said. “I want to make sure that the Democratic senator stands in my shoes, and then that the Republicans on this bill will continue to support it, because that's the ultimate resolution of this problem is to have a statute passed.”

He highlighted his successes for disability rights as a point of pride in his career.

“We've had a number of great successes and a lot of momentum that will ultimately result in passage of legislation,” he said. “For example, the ABLE Act, which I led the fight on in the Senate to pass, is basically a 529 plan for people with disabilities, meaning you can save for a disability in a tax advantage way the same way save for higher education.”

The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act allows individuals with disabilities to save and pay for disability treatment and other related expenses. It was initially passed in 2014 and was most recently amended in 2021 to expand the eligible age group.

While he does not know what’s next after 18 years in the Senate, Casey knows he will continue to advocate for people with disabilities.

“After I leave the Senate, I have to decide what I'll do for the next chapter of my life, and I want to continue to be a strong advocate for people with disabilities, as well as children, seniors and the most vulnerable among us,” he said. “There's a lot of good work that's done in the nonprofit sectors, a lot of good work that's done, obviously in the advocacy community, and I'm going to continue to pursue those opportunities in this next phase of my life.”

Frank Cerminaro (middle) and his employees Will Stephens (left) and Alex Black (right) pose at Frank's Place in Simpson. Both employees have intellectual disabilities.
Lydia McFarlane
/
WVIA News
Frank Cerminaro (middle) and his employees Will Stephens (left) and Alex Black (right) pose at Frank's Place in Simpson. Both employees have intellectual disabilities.

A positive environment

Frank’s Place now has about 10 workers with disabilities, and they are always open to more.

“We find work. Even if we don't need anybody, we just find it,” the owner said.

Lucca Cerminaro has been working at the restaurant since he was a teenager.

While he was nervous to get started at first, his favorite position is host– one of the most public facing of the roles he’s worked.

“It helps me to connect with people,” he said. “[Customers] want to come in and socialize, just be part of the community. It's what we are.”

Throughout his life, he’s dealt with people underestimating him or only seeing his disability first. Working in his dad’s restaurant has given him the confidence to know he is more than his disability. He said exposing the community to people with disabilities helps to promote understanding.

“I feel like sometimes people do underestimate us because they don't even realize it, because they probably just don't know us,” he said. “They underestimate my disabilities, they just don't know about it until they're told about it, and they get to learn more about me and the other people that work here.”

As an owner, Frank Cerminaro has seen his employees grow, and for him, that is one of the most gratifying parts of the experience.

One of his employees, Alex Black, nicknamed by other employees “Ice Man,” started last April and has gotten much more comfortable since getting started. He comes to work on time, consistently gets the ice for the kitchen and does it all with a smile on his face.

Black, 29, previously worked in the service industry at various fast food restaurants. He sees himself staying at Frank’s Place for the long term.

“I love it working here, so I'm sticking around here,” he said.

Another employee, William Stephens, started by working only three hour shifts a few times a week. Now, he’s up to six hour shifts.

Stephens, 24, has been washing dishes at Frank’s Place for the past five years. He too sees himself being there for the long term.

Frank Cerminaro said Stephens used to worry about anything happening to his mother, who he lives with. Now, those fears have subsided because he knows he’ll always have people to take care of him at Frank’s Place.

“He stopped worrying about it,” he said. “He goes because Frank and Kelly from Frank's place will make sure I'm okay. For a kid to think that going home at night is pretty good.”

Stephens said, “He's wonderful,” about his boss.

“I like being a dishwasher,” he said with a smile.

'You just got to give them a chance'

Because it’s often the only opportunity Cerminaro's employees have to get out of the house and socialize, he said his workers with disabilities are some of his most dependable employees.

“Why wouldn't you want someone that comes to work on time, leaves when they're supposed to leave, [and] they're excited to be there? There really isn't much downside,” he said.

Cerminaro has been asked by other businesses to come talk about hiring people with disabilities. To him, it’s simple: just give the employees time to learn and adjust.

“You just got to give them a chance,” he said. “Start them off small, a couple hours a day. Once they get comfortable, then they get comfortable, and they don't want to leave. You have an employee for life.”

He advises other business owners, as well as parents of his employees, to have patience with the employees as they get adjusted.

“Sometimes I have trouble with parents, because they don't want to let go,” he said. “They're afraid something's going to happen. They might have a meltdown. Well, they have a meltdown. We figure it out.”

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