Legal Challenge Seeks Minimum Wage for 300,000 Disabled Workers in German Workshops

A test case before a German court could require sheltered workshops to pay disabled employees the minimum wage.

• The legal action, brought on behalf of Jürgen Linnemann, asks the Münster Labour Court to rule that disabled workers in sheltered workshops are employees entitled to the minimum wage.
• Former federal commissioner for disabled people Hubert Hüppe said the workshop system does not fulfill its obligation to rehabilitate workers for the mainstream economy.
• Karla Bredenbals, head of Caritas workshops in Paderborn, acknowledged that some colleagues express reluctance to let productive workers leave.
• The next hearing is scheduled for September, with a decision expected within a year.