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Are sheltered workshops for disabled exploitation, or a lifeline? - TwinCities.com

"This is a civil rights issue," said Schifsky, program director of The Arc of Minnesota, which advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. "We are segregating a minority class." The growing dispute over the jobs for people with disabilities is being highlighted by their unemployment rate -- 77 percent in the U.S.

"This is a civil rights issue," said Schifsky, program director of The Arc of Minnesota, which advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. "We are segregating a minority class." The growing dispute over the jobs for people with disabilities is being highlighted by their unemployment rate -- 77 percent in the U.S. and climbing. It also is fueled by a lawsuit in federal court in Oregon, charging that workshops segregate people into low-paying dead-end jobs. The suit echoes charges made by the National Disability Rights Network in a 2011 report called "Segregated and Exploited -- A Call to Action."