Individuals with Disabilities Program

Background

On July 26, 2010, President Obama issued Executive Order 13548, which provides that the Federal Government, as the Nation's largest employer, must become a model for the employment of individuals with disabilities. The order directs Executive departments and agencies to improve their efforts to employ Federal workers with disabilities and targeted disabilities through increased recruitment, hiring, and retention of these individuals. The Executive Order also adopts the goal set forth in Executive Order 13163 of hiring 100,000 people with disabilities into the Federal Government over 5 years, including individuals with targeted disabilities.

In addition to the Executive Order, federal agencies are obligated under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended to affirmatively employ people with disabilities and to provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and qualified employees unless doing so would cause undue hardship. The specific requirements of this obligation are spelled out in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Management Directive (MD) 715.

The Disability Program is responsible for providing policy guidance and oversight to ensure the Department complies with these legal and statutory requirements. Also, through the Disability Program, the Department develops strategies to increase the recruitment, hiring, and retention of employees with disabilities, ensure procedures for the reasonable accommodation program and accessibility standards are met, and conducts inclusion and awareness training.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM)

NDEAM is observed each October to recognize and celebrate the contributions of workers with disabilities and to educate on the value of a workforce inclusive of their skills and talents. NDEAM dates to 1945, when Congress declared the first week in October "National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week." The return of service members with disabilities from World War II sparked the public interest in the contributions of people with disabilities in the workplace. In 1962, the word "physically" was removed to acknowledge the employment needs and contributions of individuals with all types of disabilities. Then in 1988, Congress expands “National Employ the Handicapped Week” to “National Disability Employment Awareness Month.” To learn more about the origins and evolution of NDEAM and other important disability employment information, visit the Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), website at www.dol.gov/agencies/odep

Executive Orders

• Executive Order 13078 - Increasing Employment of Adults with Disabilities, March 13, 1998
• Executive Order 13124 - Amending the Civil Service Rules Relating to Federal Employees with Psychiatric Disabilities, June 4, 1999
• Executive Order 13164 - Requiring Federal Agencies to Establish Procedures to Facilitate the Provision of Reasonable Accommodation, October 20, 2000
• Executive Order 13548 - Increasing Federal Employment of Individuals with Disabilities, July 26, 2010

Guidance and Regulations

• EEOC Policy Guidance on Executive Order 13164: Establishing Procedures to Facilitate the Provision of Reasonable Accommodation
• Questions And Answers: Policy Guidance On Executive Order 13164: Establishing Procedures To Facilitate The Provision Of Reasonable Accommodation
• Title 29 CFR Part 1630: Regulations to implement the equal employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act
• Title 29 CFR Part 1640: Procedures for Coordinating the Investigations of Complaints or charges of employment discrimination based on disability subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• Title 29 CFR Part 1641: Procedures for complaints/charges of employment discrimination based on disability filed against employers holding government contracts or subcontracts

Resources

• ADA Information & Technical Assistance - U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
• Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - Disability Rights Office
• National Aging and Disability Transportation Center (NADTC)
• National Disability Employment Awareness-Live Stream “Learn About Deaf Culture”
• Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)
• U.S. Access Board
• U.S. Department of Education - Office of Civil Rights
• U.S. Department of Labor - Job Accommodation Network (JAN)
• Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion