PORTLAND, Ore (Reuters) – Thousands of disabled Oregonians are stuck segregated in dead-end jobs at “sheltered workshops,” in violation of federal law, because of failed state programs that should help them find mainstream employment, according to a landmark lawsuit filed on Wednesday.
Sheltered workshops, sometimes called “work-activity programs,” are facilities funded by state and local agencies and nonprofit groups around the country that provide jobs to disabled people performing basic, unskilled labor such as packaging or simple assembly tasks.