"If he had called about a skinny dog in someone’s yard [View all]

[loyalsister]

he says, the response would have been quicker, and better."

Where are they now? It appears that with some outside advocacy some of the men who were treated as subhuman in Iowa have been able to salvage some goodness from life.

Many of the violations were clearly illegal, but many of the financial injustices were legal. President Obama has initiated some real progress with his EO raising minimum wage, but institutions can still take portions of the income of elderly people and those with disabilities.

This Dickensian story — told here through court records, internal documents and extensive first-time interviews with several of the men — is little known beyond Iowa. But five years after their rescue, it continues to resound in halls of power. Last year the case led to the largest jury verdict in the history of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: $240 million in damages — an award later drastically reduced, yet still regarded as a watershed moment for disability rights in the workplace. In both direct and subtle ways, it has also influenced government initiatives, advocates say, including President Obama’s recent executive order to increase the minimum wage for certain workers.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/03/09/us/the-boys-in-the-bunkhouse.html?_r=1