National Association of the Deaf

Submitted by Jesse.Ragsdale on Fri, 03/26/2010 - 17:59

On behalf of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), Jeff Rosen, my service dog Lia, and I participated in a meeting on March 11, 2010, with the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) at the Department of Labor (DOL). The meeting was focused on the challenges to and the opportunities for the employment of people with disabilities in the Federal government and the private sector. 

NAD is part of a coalition of national disability organizations called the Justice for All Action Network (JFAAN) working to establish a Commission on People with Disabilities, Employment,
Economic Empowerment and Social Security to develop new employment initiatives. NAD is urging the Federal government to increase employment of deaf and hard of hearing people in the federal workforce. NAD is also advocating for fully accessible state employment programs and services. Additionally, NAD is promoting the inclusion of deaf and hard of hearing business owners as eligible for Small Business Administration loans and federal contracting opportunities.

At the meeting, Assistant Secretary Kathleen Martinez spoke about the ODEP Listening Tour sessions, a series of six sessions in which members of the public were able to voice their concerns and give their input about how to effectively increase employment of people with disabilities. ODEP will use this information to increase the employment of women, veterans and people with disabilities, and to identify which Federal and State systems are most efficient in employing people with disabilities.

We discussed the April 26, 2010 Federal Hiring Event for People with Disabilities.  For more information, go to USAJobs' Disability Hiring Event page. There was some confusion regarding this hiring expo and how this works. This is not a job fair. You cannot print out a couple copies of your resume, show up and look around, or get an interview on the spot. Basically, you need to email your resume by March 24, 2010.  If you qualify for one or more jobs, they will contact you and set up an interview for you. There are many Federal agencies involved. What makes this event unique is that:  (a) these Federal agencies must have jobs available to be filled by applicants who go to this hiring expo; and (b) they must undergo training about disabilities and Schedule A applicants. Schedule A allows the Federal government to hire people with disabilities on a non-competitive basis. This is for the benefit of people with disabilities, as well as making the Federal government a “role model” for others in terms of hiring people with disabilities.

Jeff Rosen spoke about the experience of a Gallaudet student who applied for a position with the Federal government but was declined without any explanation. The student wanted to know if she lacked certain qualifications to be hired. Jeff encouraged the organizers of the event to ensure that there was good feedback to applicants about how they could increase their opportunities for Federal jobs.

Next we discussed the Disability Program Navigator Initiative, a program jointly-funded by the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) under the DOL, and Social Security Administration. The program conducts outreach and provides direct services to people with disabilities, offers information concerning employment support programs, assists customers with disabilities with different programs and services related to employment. At the meeting, advocates expressed concerns about grant funding for this program which is set to expire on June 2010. Advocates want to retain this program and improve on it. They are concerned that, if this program stops and is later reestablished, we will lose the people with professional knowledge and expertise that we have today.

The Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), Patricia Shiu, spoke about OFCCP’s responsibilities in overseeing federal contractors to make sure they comply with civil rights law, Executive Order 11246, and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in employing people with disabilities as a condition of performing a contract with the Federal government. She fervently spoke about how we need more enforcement against discrimination, and mentioned the obvious – there has been little action regarding enforcement of disability discrimination laws and enforcement needs to be increased. This rang true for me, given my experience with an interview for a public transportation job in Philadelphia, PA.  The person who interviewed me said, "I cannot hire you because you are deaf and your inability to hear trains coming puts you in extreme danger and we are not prepared to accept that risk."

The discussion next went to the topic of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that permits some people to be paid less than minimum wage. People representing the Disability Policy Collaboration spoke about the abusive practices of paying subminimum wages to people with intellectual disabilities, such as the case of the men working for Henry's Turkey Services in Atalissa, Iowa.

We then discussed the proposal to establish a Commission on People with Disabilities, Employment, Economic Empowerment and Social Security. On December 12, 2009, NAD and other organizations sent President Obama a letter with a draft Executive Order establishing this Commission. The goal of this Commission is to examine and present proposals related to increasing the number of employed people with disabilities, ensuring that accessibility is effectively provided to achieve equal opportunity in the Federal, State and private sector.

NAD has been fighting for the same goals discussed in this meeting, and has been working with other organizations to improve the lives of deaf and hard of hearing individuals in attaining employment and equal opportunity in the workplace.