CHICAGO-The chief executive officer of a downstate branch of Goodwill Industries resigned Thursday following outrage across Illinois over her recent threat to stop paying many of the nonprofit's disabled employees, citing expected rising payroll costs due to the pending state minimum wage increase.
After much backlash on social media, Land of Lincoln Goodwill Industries in Springfield on Wednesday reversed its decision to strip the thrift store workers of their pay, with President and CEO Sharon Durbin issuing an apology to "our constituents, our clients and our faithful donors."
"Our recent decision regarding the (Vocational) Rehab program and the resulting harm it might have caused falls short of living up to our mission and we apologize for this error in judgment," said Durbin in a written statement, citing an outpouring of comments regarding plans to no longer pay the workers.
Durbin-who drew a salary of nearly $165,000 in 2018-had served the local Goodwill for 13 years. Her resignation was effective immediately, according to the agency.
A Land of Lincoln Goodwill spokesman confirmed that a letter was sent in mid-June to a dozen workers with disabilities in a job skills program, letting them know they would no longer receive a paycheck for their work because of budgeting constraints attributed to a recently approved Illinois minimum wage increase.
The charity now says all of those workers will receive their paychecks.
"All affected individuals will keep their previous jobs and their previous wage rate (minimum wage or higher)," said Patrick Anderson of Land of Lincoln Goodwill in an email Wednesday.
The nonprofit receives state funding for contract work and some reimbursement for services provided to people with disabilities. The charity does not pay taxes.
Land of Lincoln Goodwill, like other Goodwill agencies, is a separate entity operating independently under its own board of directors, Anderson said. Officials with Goodwill Industries International did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The local charity, which is based in Springfield, has 15 central Illinois retail stores and donation centers, and employs over 400 people.
Many Chicago lawmakers on Tuesday expressed anger that the nonprofit would threaten the pay of workers with disabilities, strongly advising the charity to reconsider.
"Seems to me that this is the opposite of what 'goodwill' means," state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Chicago Democrat, said on Twitter.
State Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Deerfield, said in a written statement that the Goodwill agency in 2018 received nearly $400,000 in state grants and contracts intended only to be used for workers with disabilities. She also accused the nonprofit of using "false excuses," adding that Goodwill is permitted by the U.S. Department of Labor to pay these workers below minimum wage.
"What are these contracts going toward if not for the employment of individuals with disabilities?" Morrison said. "That is something we will be looking into. We need Goodwill to return to its mission of working to lift up those experiencing barriers to employment, especially those with disabilities."
The story, first reported by local news station WCIA, also drew the ire of U.S. Sen. and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
"No worker should be told they're lucky to get less than minimum wage," Sanders tweeted on Tuesday. "People with disabilities deserve jobs that pay a living wage. It's time to end the subminimum wage and guarantee truly integrated employment opportunities for people with disabilities."
The local nonprofit's stated mission is to "provide rehabilitative and job-training services to persons with disabilities and other barriers to employment in and around Springfield, Illinois," according to Internal Revenue Service forms.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation in February to increase the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025; the last time Illinois raised its minimum wage was in 2010, to $8.25 an hour.