CEO salaries soar at disabled workers' expense

Jeff Kosseff and Bryan Denson of The Oregonian found that executive pay has soared at nonprofits that often give disabled workers less than the federal minimum wage. "In Texas, one of the biggest nonprofits paid $4.6 million to a management firm founded by its CEO. In Baltimore, another charity's top executive earned more than $700,000 in cash and benefits. And a Tennessee nonprofit boosted its CEO's pay and benefits eightfold over four years to $500,000. " The newspaper found more than 100 executives earning six-figure pay and benefits at the 50 most active nonprofits in the Javits-Wagner-O'Day program during 2003. This when eight of the biggest charities in the Javits-Wagner-O'Day program paid 1,644 subminimum wage workers a median rate of $1.93 an hour, according to Department of Labor records analyzed by the newspaper.