The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Final Report on Best Practices
For the Employment of People with Disabilities
In State Government
Printable version (PDF)
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Introduction
Part I: Recruiting and Hiring
Part II: Reasonable Accommodation
Part III: Protecting the Rights of
Individuals With Disabilities on the Job
Part IV: Other Best Practices That Promote the
Employment of People with Disabilities
Part V: Issues for Further Evaluation by
States
Conclusion
This report highlights best practices of nine states that
promote the hiring, retention, and advancement of individuals
with disabilities in state government jobs. The United States
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is issuing this
report as part of the agency's efforts in support of the New
Freedom Initiative, President George W. Bush's comprehensive
strategy for the full integration of people with disabilities
into all aspects of America's social and economic life.
Despite progress made since the passage of the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, people with disabilities
still experience unemployment at a rate far above the national
average. With more than five million workers nation-wide and
with the unique opportunities they have to serve as model
employers, state governments can play a significant role in
enhancing employment opportunities for people with
disabilities.
The governors of the nine participating states voluntarily
allowed EEOC to review a wide range of best practices affecting
individuals with disabilities who are state government
employees or applicants for state employment. We examined state
government practices related to the following:
- the recruitment and hiring of people with disabilities
for state jobs;
- the provision of reasonable accommodations for applicants
and employees with disabilities;
- the retention and advancement of individuals with
disabilities within state government; and
- the employment of people with disabilities more generally
- that is, in both public and private sector jobs.
This report also lists a number of what may be inadvertent
barriers to the employment, retention, and advancement of
qualified individuals with disabilities. We suggest that all
states evaluate their practices to determine whether they
include these or other barriers.
This report has two purposes. First, all employers,
including the participating states, can learn from the best
practices outlined in this report. Second, we are offering
states free, informal technical assistance to promote voluntary
compliance with the ADA.
Parts I through IV of the report discuss best practices, and
Part V lists potential barriers. Following are some of EEOC's
most significant findings:
Part I: Recruiting and Hiring
- Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico created an
Executive Task Force on Disability Employment to develop
strategies to increase the recruitment and hiring of
qualified individuals with disabilities for state government
jobs.
- Vermont and Washington work with organizations of and for
individuals with disabilities as part of their targeted
outreach and recruitment efforts. Maryland has a Coordinator
of Special Outreach and Employment Programs to assist state
agencies in targeting diverse applicant pools for state
positions that include persons with disabilities.
- Vermont and Washington have programs that specifically
train and/or hire individuals with disabilities for state
jobs. Vermont also provides a "must interview" to anyone with
a disability who meets the minimum qualifications for any
state job.
- Most of the states surveyed provide clear statements to
job applicants about reasonable accommodations for the
application process and provide supervisors and managers with
training on their ADA obligations related to the application
and interview process.
Part II: Reasonable Accommodation
- Vermont has state-wide written reasonable accommodation
policies and procedures; Washington requires state agencies
with 50 or more employees to develop reasonable accommodation
procedures that are reviewed by the state's Affirmative
Action Committee; and Florida and Kansas reported that a
number of state agencies have adopted their own written
procedures.
- Several states provide procedural safeguards to ensure
that reasonable accommodations are not inappropriately
denied. Utah trains all of its ADA Coordinators to submit any
proposed denials to the Division of Risk Management so that
they can be reviewed for legal sufficiency; Vermont created a
Reasonable Accommodation Committee to which an employee may
have a denial submitted for review; and Washington requires
that all denials of accommodation be signed by the head of
the employing agency.
- Maryland and Vermont have tracked information related to
the provision of reasonable accommodations that could be used
to assess the effectiveness of their reasonable accommodation
procedures.
- While all of the states surveyed generally require
individual state agencies to pay for reasonable
accommodations, Utah and Washington have some centralized
funds available for any agency that can demonstrate a
particular accommodation would be too costly for the agency
to obtain on its own.
- Agencies in Kansas and Missouri provide accommodations
for some individuals who do not necessarily meet the ADA's
definition of "disability," such as those with limitations
resulting from short-term, temporary conditions.
Part III: Protecting the Rights of Individuals With
Disabilities on the Job
- The Maryland Aviation Administration's bi-annual
supervisory ADA training addresses the issue of how to
promote career development for individuals with
disabilities.
- Most of the states we surveyed indicated that training on
the ADA is provided for managers and supervisors either on a
statewide or agency-wide basis.
Part IV: Other Best Practices That Promote the Employment
of People with Disabilities
- In 2004, Florida established the Agency for Persons with
Disabilities and Maryland elevated its former Office on
Individuals with Disabilities to cabinet-level status.
- Florida, Kansas, and New Hampshire have taken steps to
ensure a level of accessibility of state websites that meets
or exceeds the standards applicable to the federal government
under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
- The Florida Freedom Initiative is a demonstration project
that allows certain individuals who received Medicaid and
Supplemental Security Income to earn and save more than
current law generally permits without losing vital
benefits.
- Maryland and Vermont have participated in a pilot project
to have some employees serve as "disability program
navigators" at state One Stop Career Centers created under
the Workforce Investment Act to help people with disabilities
access these services more easily.
- Youth Leadership Forums in Florida, Kansas, Maryland,
Missouri, Vermont, and Washington annually bring together
thirty to forty high school juniors and seniors to
participate in several days of activities that help them
develop vocational goals, strengthen leadership skills, and
learn from the experiences of other youth and adults with
disabilities.
Part V: Issues for Further Evaluation by States
- Some equal employment opportunity and affirmative action
policies fail to include disability. In other instances,
affirmative action policies mention disability, but no
specific efforts are being made to increase the
representation of individuals with disabilities in the
workforce.
- Some procedures inappropriately limit the obligation to
provide reasonable accommodations such as telework and
reassignment, or limit the availability of reasonable
accommodation to those with "permanent" conditions.
- Some training materials for managers, supervisors, and
ADA Coordinators include legal inaccuracies.
Conclusion
The report's conclusion notes several positive trends.
Applicants for state employment are frequently given
information about the availability of reasonable accommodations
for the application process, and job announcements and position
descriptions do not appear to be drafted in ways that would
discourage people with disabilities from applying for state
jobs. Some states have undertaken targeted outreach to and
recruitment of individuals with disabilities. At this time
there is insufficient data to assess the effectiveness of these
efforts.
Supervisors, managers, and other state personnel responsible
for the hiring, retention, and advancement of people with
disabilities have access to sufficient information about their
ADA obligations. The use of written procedures for providing
reasonable accommodations, methods of documenting and tracking
the disposition of requests, and the provision of appeal
processes following denials of reasonable accommodations are
also positive trends in some states. We were unable to
determine the extent to which individuals with disabilities
have been able to advance within state government once hired,
since we saw little evidence that the states undertake any
measures to determine the distribution of employees with
disabilities among the various levels of the state government
workforce.
Finally, we note that many of the best practices identified
in the report resulted from legislative or executive actions.
This sends a clear message "from the top" that the employment
of people with disabilities is a priority for the states.
A. Background
This report details best practices undertaken by states to
promote the hiring, retention, and advancement of individuals
with disabilities in state government employment. The U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC" or "Commission") issued
an interim report covering four states - Florida, Maryland,
Vermont, and Washington - on October 29, 2004. (1) This final report covers those four
states and five others - Kansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, New
Mexico, and Utah.
Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
(2) prohibits private and state
and local government entities that employ fifteen or more
employees from discriminating against qualified individuals with
disabilities with respect to recruitment, the application
process, hiring, advancement, and other terms, conditions, and
privileges of employment. (3)
Employers covered by Title I of the ADA must also make reasonable
accommodations so that qualified individuals with disabilities
may participate in the application process, perform the essential
(or fundamental) duties of a job, and enjoy the benefits and
privileges of employment available to all employees.
Despite progress made as the result of the ADA, recent
estimates still put the unemployment rate of people with severe
disabilities at or near 70 percent. In response to this
stubbornly high unemployment rate and other barriers that people
with disabilities continue to face, President George W. Bush
announced his New Freedom Initiative (NFI) on February 1, 2001.
The NFI is the President's comprehensive strategy for the full
integration of people with disabilities into all aspects of
America's social and economic life. It promotes increased access
to technology, education, the workplace, and community life.
(4)
The EEOC enforces Title I of the ADA and has, since 2001,
taken a lead role in helping to implement the NFI's employment
goals. In addition to carrying out its traditional enforcement
and litigation functions under the ADA, the EEOC has stepped up
its outreach and technical assistance efforts. In April 2002, we
began a series of free ADA workshops targeted to businesses with
15 to 100 employees. Since August 2002, we have distributed
thousands of copies of The Americans with Disabilities Act: A
Primer for Small Business. We have issued
question-and-answer documents discussing how the ADA applies to
specific disabilities in the workplace, such as diabetes,
epilepsy, intellectual disabilities (i.e., mental retardation),
and cancer and have published a guide that describes how Title I
of the ADA applies to food service employers. We have also issued
a question-and-answer document on telework as a reasonable
accommodation. Finally, we have increased our outreach to people
with disabilities through presentations at conferences sponsored
by organizations of and for individuals with disabilities and
publication of a question-and-answer document on the ADA for job
applicants with disabilities. (5)
The EEOC has undertaken the "States' Best Practices Project"
in part because of the number of people state governments employ
(collectively more than five million), and because of the unique
opportunities to serve as model employers for other public
entities (such as county and municipal governments) and for the
private sector. The purposes of this project are twofold. First,
EEOC hopes that all states (as well as local governments and
private employers) will learn from the best practices of the
participating states. Second, EEOC is offering participating
states free, informal, technical assistance to aid in voluntary
compliance with the ADA.
B. Methodology
States were chosen for this study based in part on
geographical diversity, the range in size of their workforces,
and their differing personnel structures. Appendix A to this
report includes information about the size of each participating
state's workforce and a description of each state's personnel
structure.
The nine selected states voluntarily participated in this
study. EEOC provided the states general guidelines concerning the
kind of information we wished to review. We wanted to find out
what individuals with disabilities would encounter when applying
for state employment and what they would experience on the job.
The information we requested included the following:
- job application forms, job announcements, and position
descriptions;
- written procedures for providing reasonable accommodations
to qualified applicants and employees with disabilities;
- information about procedures for administering employment
tests, including any reasonable accommodations the states
provide for the testing process; and
- employee handbooks, manuals on recruitment and selection,
directives on EEO and diversity, and other documents reflecting
best practices related to the hiring, retention, and
advancement of qualified individuals with disabilities.
Representatives from the EEOC held an initial teleconference
with representatives from each state. The states determined who
would provide information to the EEOC and what state agencies
would be the subject of the review. Following the teleconference,
EEOC submitted a Request for Information to each state, reviewed
the documents provided in response to the request, and conducted
follow-up interviews with state officials to clarify or expand
upon information in the documents provided. All participating
states reviewed and commented on a draft final report prior to
publication.
Because the EEOC relied on self-reporting, it is possible that
we have not learned about all state activities that contribute
positively to the employment of people with disabilities in state
government. Additionally, not all activities designated by states
as "best practices" have necessarily been included here. We did
not include activities we deemed merely to satisfy the states'
legal obligations under the ADA. Also, when most or all states
engaged in a similar practice, we sometimes offered only
representative examples of the practice from a few states.
Appendix B to this report is a list of state contacts who can
provide more information about the practices identified in this
report and perhaps others.
C. Overview
This report has five main parts and a conclusion.
- Part I discusses best practices related to the recruitment
and hiring of qualified individuals with disabilities,
including targeted outreach and provision of reasonable
accommodations for the application process. Best practices with
respect to job announcements, the job application process, and
position descriptions are also considered.
- Part II discusses ways that the subject states provide
reasonable accommodations for qualified employees with
disabilities, including written reasonable accommodation
procedures and other methods of ensuring prompt and fair
resolution of accommodation requests. Some innovative
accommodation solutions are also discussed.
- Part III describes what the states have done to ensure
that, once hired, individuals with disabilities are treated
fairly and have opportunities for advancement within state
government. This part discusses not only specific state
practices that promote advancement, but also ongoing training
for managers and supervisors that can proactively prevent
discrimination.
- Part IV describes state activities that, although not
designed specifically to increase employment opportunities in
state government, promote employment of people with
disabilities generally.
- Part V lists possible barriers to the employment and
advancement of people with disabilities in state government
jobs that were found at the time of our survey of the
participating states and that may exist in other states.
- The conclusion summarizes the most promising trends that
EEOC found as the result of its review.
A. Targeted Recruitment and Outreach
The following section discusses ways that the states surveyed
by the EEOC have attempted to increase the representation of
qualified individuals with disabilities in their hiring pools and
in their workforces. Recruitment and outreach efforts are of
essentially two types - those that seek to increase the number of
applicants with disabilities for state jobs that are available to
the general public, and hiring or training programs designed
specifically for individuals with disabilities.
1. Efforts to Increase the Pool of Qualified Applicants with
Disabilities
Maryland, New Mexico, Vermont, and Washington reported the
following practices aimed at increasing the number of individuals
with disabilities in state government jobs:
- The Maryland Department of Budget and Management has a
Coordinator, Special Outreach and Employment Programs, to
assist state agencies in targeting diverse applicant pools for
state positions that include persons with disabilities.
- The Maryland State Highway Administration has included
specific action items for recruitment and advancement of
individuals with disabilities in its Strategic Plan for
Managing Diversity 2000-2004. Specifically, the Plan calls
for implementing a series of diversity strategies that include
expanding the recruitment plan to promote state government
employment opportunities to disability advocacy organizations,
the American Association of Retired Persons, and the Veterans
Administration.
- Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico charged state
administrators of disability services with developing a
proposal to increase the number of people with disabilities who
apply, are interviewed, and are hired for employment in state
government. The governor has launched an Executive Task Force
on Disability Employment to implement the proposal. Key
strategies may include:
- developing an ongoing public awareness campaign about
employment possibilities with the state;
- educating state agencies about the benefits of hiring
persons with disabilities;
- identifying barriers in the application process;
- awarding pay differentials for service positions that
are difficult to fill;
- waiving competitive hiring requirements for a person
with a disability who has successfully completed an
approved on-the-job training (OJT) internship or
apprenticeship program;
- expanding existing OJT internship and apprenticeship
programs to include persons with disabilities; and
- identifying temporary positions that may provide work
experiences for students with disabilities.
- The New Mexico legislature issued a "Joint Memorial"
directing the Executive Task Force on Disability Employment to
develop policies, procedures, and guidelines that state
agencies can use to recruit, hire, retain, and promote
individuals with disabilities and directing state agencies to
follow these policies, procedures, and guidelines.
- New Mexico has also implemented "recruitment pay" for
vocational rehabilitation counselors at the Division of
Vocational Rehabilitation that will enable the agency to
recruit and retain counselors. These positions, which
historically have been difficult to fill, generally have been
held by individuals with disabilities.
- Individual New Mexico agencies, such as the Public
Education Department and the Commission for the Blind, engage
in outreach and training to recruit and retain individuals with
disabilities.
- The New Mexico Developmental Disabilities Planning Council
has developed, and Governor Richardson has distributed to all
state agencies, a survey to identify internship and other
placement opportunities for people with disabilities, as well
as sources of funding for the various types of placements.
- Vermont Governor Jim Douglas recorded a series of radio
Public Service Announcements specifically designed to encourage
people from all backgrounds, including those with disabilities,
to consider employment with the state. These Public Service
Announcements aired in conjunction with the Governor's
announcement of October 2004 as Vermont Diversity and
Disability Employment Awareness Month.
- Vermont reports that it actively engages in outreach to a
diverse range of organizations that serve people with
disabilities, such as the Vermont Center for Independent
Living. To be included on the outreach list, any individual or
organization may submit a request to the Employment Services
Division.
- Vermont's Department of Human Resources has developed a
"Working for the State" workshop for community-based
organizations throughout the state, particularly those that
serve people with disabilities. The workshop provides an
overview of the application process, highlights state career
options, and provides information on available resources.
- Vermont's Department of Human Resources partners with the
Division of Rehabilitation to assist individuals with specific
impairments/disabilities, such as traumatic brain injury and
developmental disabilities, in applying for jobs. The
Department also works closely with the Division for the Blind
and Visually Impaired to provide vocational assessments and
evaluations for assistive technology for persons who are blind
or visually impaired.
- Vermont also allows individuals with "qualifying
disabilities" who meet the minimum qualifications for a state
job to ask for a "mandatory interview." A "qualifying
disability" is any disability that meets the ADA's
definition.
- Washington state's affirmative action policy covers, among
other groups, Vietnam Era veterans, disabled veterans, disabled
persons, and people over the age of forty. The state's
Department of Personnel administers the program, which means
that it provides guidance and assistance to state agencies and
institutions and monitors and reports on their progress. All
general government agencies and higher education institutions
must maintain an annual affirmative action policy and,
depending on their size, must submit either an agency profile
or an affirmative action plan (including a bi-annual update).
The goal of the Department of Personnel is to address the
underutilization of individuals with disabilities in the state
workforce by:
- cultivating relationships with disability groups;
- disseminating job bulletins to persons with
disabilities;
- advertising in media that serve or represent persons
with disabilities; and
- developing a pool of qualified individuals with
disabilities to fill temporary positions in underutilized
job groups.
2. Hiring Programs Specifically for People with
Disabilities
Two states - Washington and Vermont - have programs that
specifically train and/or hire individuals with disabilities for
state jobs.
- In 1997, Washington passed legislation creating a supported
employment program for individuals who need on-the-job training
and long-term support to do their jobs successfully. The
program allows agencies to add positions within their budgets
that will not count against their allotted full-time employee
positions for the entire time the individual is employed by the
agency. The program targets individuals with developmental
disabilities and those with significant disabilities who are
eligible for vocational rehabilitation services. In October
1998 the number of individuals working who were hired through
this program was 23; by October 2003 it was 107.
- Vermont identified three specific programs that provide
employment and training opportunities for individuals with
disabilities in state government jobs:
- The VR-OPT Program offers training in clerical support
skills and job readiness to prepare individuals with
disabilities for potential positions.
- The Clean Sweep Program provides training in a wide
range of cleaning, safety, and maintenance procedures.
Program participants receive hands-on training in
internships that rotate among various types of jobs.
- The On-the-Job Training (OJT) Program allows state
departments to fill entry-level positions at a lower salary
and to receive support in providing additional training or
mentoring. The goal of the OJT is to provide employment
opportunities for individuals who, as a result of their
disabilities, find it difficult to meet the testing,
educational, or experience requirements for a
position.
B. Job Announcements and Job Applications
The ADA does not require employers to use a specific type of
job announcement or job application form. Some practices related
to job announcements and applications, however, may discourage
individuals with disabilities from applying for jobs. For
example, a deaf individual who uses a sign language interpreter
to communicate might not apply for a position described as
requiring "good oral communication skills." Similarly, a job
announcement that fails to differentiate between a position's
essential (or fundamental) and marginal functions may discourage
individuals whose disabilities make them unable to do the
marginal functions from applying for the position, even though
they may still be considered "qualified" under the ADA. (6)
On the other hand, employers can take several positive steps
to ensure that their job announcements and job applications do
not inadvertently exclude qualified individuals with disabilities
from the applicant pool.
1. Identifying Essential Job Functions
Several states reported on the efforts they make to identify
essential and marginal functions in job announcements and
position descriptions.
- Florida reported that, as part of ADA training at several
state agencies, managers and supervisors are directed to
designate those job functions considered "essential" in job
descriptions and to prepare job descriptions prior to
announcement of, and recruiting for, a position.
- Kansas agencies develop job descriptions that list the
essential and marginal functions of a position, including the
percent of time spent performing a specific function. The
process of identifying whether a function is essential or
marginal helps to refine job announcements.
- Utah's Department of Human Resource Management has issued a
detailed Manual on Job & Position Analysis (March
1, 2003) to facilitate compliance with the ADA requirements.
Specifically, the manual is intended to help supervisors and
managers develop job descriptions, compare job activities for
the classification process, develop interview questions and
examination tools, design selection devices for entry and/or
promotion, and determine essential and marginal functions of a
position for purposes of determining whether reasonable
accommodation can be made. Utah reports that use of this guide
to identify the essential functions of the job will help avoid
disability discrimination in state employment by promoting
correct determinations of when an individual is "qualified" for
a position (i.e. can perform the essential functions with or
without accommodation). The manual also contains information
regarding ADA rules on reasonable accommodation as well as
disability-related inquiries and medical examinations as they
relate to the hiring process.
2. Availability of Reasonable Accommodations
Most of the states we surveyed take some measures to make
potential applicants with disabilities aware of the availability
of reasonable accommodations for the application process. For
example:
- Florida's employment application states at the top of the
form that applicants can notify an agency's hiring authority to
request accommodations to participate in the employment
process.
- The front page of Kansas' employment application clearly
announces the state's obligation to provide reasonable
accommodations to applicants and gives a telephone number for
requesting accommodation. Individual agencies may customize
their own applications, and these also prominently display a
notice about requesting accommodation. Some applications, such
as the one used by the Kansas Judicial Branch, have a place for
the agency to indicate a contact person, a phone number, and a
TDD number.
- Agencies operating under the Maryland Department of Budget
and Management provide all job applicants who take employment
tests with information about how to request accommodations for
the tests. The Maryland Department of Transportation, among
other Maryland state agencies, includes in all recruitment
vacancy announcements a notification that accommodations are
provided for persons with disabilities, as well as the Maryland
Relay Service and TTY telephone numbers for hearing-impaired
applicants using such services.
- The Missouri State Public Defender informs applicants that
if they need assistance with "any phase of the application
process" they should notify the Human Resources Director. A
similar announcement appears on the Department of Economic
Development's website, along with an e-mail address (which
appears on the site as a live link) and a phone number for the
contact person. On the state Department of Transportation job
application page, applicants with "special needs addressed by
the Americans with Disabilities Act" are instructed to call
their local DOT office or the main office.
- The front page of New Hampshire's employment application
declares that discrimination based on several characteristics,
including "physical or mental disability," is strictly
prohibited. The application informs individuals that it is
available in modified formats for persons with disabilities,
and that special testing arrangements can be made on request to
the Division of Personnel's Examinations Section.
- The promotional materials for "Utah Job Match," the state's
online application system for state jobs, as well as the
homepage of the system itself, http://www.statejobs.utah.gov,
contain a very prominently displayed message advising in part
that, "[t[he State provides reasonable accommodations to the
known disabilities of individuals with disabilities in
compliance with the ADA." The message also provides the voice
and TTY phone numbers to call in order to request
accommodation.
C. Interviews
The interview process is an applicant's opportunity to
convince the employer that he or she is the best qualified person
for the job. The ADA seeks to ensure that this is as true for
people with disabilities as for all other applicants. The law
requires that reasonable accommodations be made for the
application and interview process, (7) such as conducting the interview
somewhere that is accessible to a person in a wheelchair or
providing a sign language interpreter for someone who is deaf.
The ADA also seeks to ensure that applicants with disabilities
are evaluated solely on the basis of their qualifications.
Consequently, the law prohibits employers from asking about an
applicant's disability before a job offer has been made. (8)
These legal protections, however, are insufficient if
individuals involved in the interview process are unaware of
them. The following are some steps that states have taken to make
their employment interview processes effective for people with
disabilities.
- Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration requires
that all managers and supervisors receive ADA training that
includes specific information about how to prepare job
descriptions and conduct job interviews of applicants with
disabilities. The Administration requires that all personnel be
sensitized to issues that might arise during the application
process. Thus, receptionists who work for the Administration
are trained to be aware of communication and physical access
issues that might arise if they come into contact with job
applicants who have disabilities.
- Florida's Department of Transportation requires that hiring
managers and supervisors, as well as interview panel members,
receive ADA training addressing interviewing and development of
position qualifications (i.e., knowledge, skills, and abilities
required for specific positions). Florida's Department of State
reported that it includes information about the ADA as part of
its general hiring procedures.
- Kansas requires that agency personnel involved in
recruitment and selection be given training on the ADA's
requirements regarding pre- and post-offer disability-related
inquiries.
- In its Structured Interview Guidelines, the Maryland
Aviation Administration includes a section that specifically
discusses individuals with disabilities and the interview
process. Among other things, the Guidelines:
- remind managers and supervisors that they may need to
modify the "standard" interview process as an accommodation
for applicants with disabilities;
- instruct human resources personnel to ask all
applicants whether they will need reasonable accommodations
for the application process at the time an interview is
scheduled;
- remind hiring officials that individuals with
disabilities may not be excluded from jobs because they
cannot perform marginal functions; and
- offer examples of common accommodations that might be
requested as part of the application and interview
process.
- As part of its training on interviewing techniques, New
Hampshire includes a section on the federal employment
discrimination laws. This includes highlighting certain ADA
issues, such as the need to ensure that notices about these
laws be accessible to persons with disabilities affecting
vision and reading.
- Vermont provides hiring officials and personnel officers
with a reference guide, People with Disabilities,
Employment and the Workplace, that includes information on
the ADA, interviewing techniques and etiquette, suggestions on
interacting with individuals with specific disabilities, a
discussion of reasonable accommodation, and resources. Most of
this information is also posted on the Vermont Department of
Human Resources' website, http://www.vermontpersonnel.org.
- The University of Washington and the State of Vermont
provide hiring officials with contact information for
individuals and agencies in the state that can assist with
issues concerning accommodations for the application and
interview process. The University of Washington's Selection
and Hiring Tools Reference also informs hiring officials
about the need to make reasonable accommodations during the
interview process and includes a section discussing
interviewing courtesies for job applicants with specific kinds
of disabilities.
D. Mentoring
Mentoring programs offer students with disabilities
information about employment opportunities and access to positive
role models. The American Association of People with Disabilities
and the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability
Employment Policy co-sponsor National Disability Mentoring Day
every October, as part of National Disability Employment
Awareness Month. In 2001, Kansas replicated this effort at the
state level, and Vermont and Maryland did so in 2003. Following
are descriptions of how Maryland and Vermont have used Disability
Mentoring Day specifically as an opportunity to encourage
individuals with disabilities to work for the state.
- In Maryland, participants in Disability Mentoring Day are
recruited from the state Division of Rehabilitation Services,
the state Workforce and Technology Center, and field offices in
the Baltimore metropolitan area and assigned for the day based
on each individual's training area and/or career interest. In
addition to accompanying their assigned mentor in workday
activities, all participants attend two informational
workshops, entitled "Applying for State Employment" and "Taking
State Examinations."
- Vermont's Disability Mentoring Day is intended to inspire a
year-round effort to promote mentoring opportunities for
individuals with disabilities and enables job seekers with
disabilities to spend time visiting a business or government
agency that matches their interests. State employees provide
one-on-one mentoring and job shadowing to job seekers to help
them evaluate personal goals, target career skills for
improvement, explore possible career paths, and perhaps develop
lasting mentor relationships.
For more information about states' participation in National
Disability Mentoring Day, see Section IV.E, below.
A. Reasonable Accommodation Procedures
The ADA requires covered employers to provide reasonable
accommodations to the known physical and mental limitations of
qualified individuals with disabilities. One way that an employer
can promote compliance with this obligation is to have in place
procedures that clearly define the responsibilities of everyone
involved in the reasonable accommodation process and that enable
tracking and prompt resolution of accommodation requests. The
following subsections detail various ways in which the subject
states ensure that requests for reasonable accommodations are
handled appropriately.
1. Reasonable Accommodation Procedures
Our survey revealed essentially four models used to promote
prompt processing of reasonable accommodation requests. This
report does not endorse a particular model. The choice of how to
provide a reasonable accommodation depends on such factors as the
size of a state's workforce, the structure of its personnel
system, and the familiarity of the individuals involved in the
accommodation process with their legal obligations.
- Statewide Written Policy and Procedures: Vermont
has developed a statewide Reasonable Accommodation Policy with
attending procedures which carefully outline the reasonable
accommodation request and appeal process. It requires that a
copy of the policy and procedures be provided to all
newly-hired state employees. In addition, this information is
posted on the Vermont Department of Human Resources' website,
http://www.vermontpersonnel.org,
under the "Workforce Equity and Diversity" section.
- Agency Written Procedures Subject to Review by the
State: As early as 1993, the Governor of Washington issued
an Executive Order requiring all agencies or institutions with
fifty or more employees to develop written reasonable
accommodation procedures. Each agency and institution submitted
its procedures to the Governor's Affirmative Action Policy
Committee for review and approval.
-
Agency Discretion to Adopt Procedures; No Review by the
State: Florida and Kansas employ this model.
- For example, the Florida Department of Children and
Families' reasonable accommodation procedures empower
supervisors to provide the accommodation requested or one
that is equally effective, but require them to refer the
request to the human resources department if they believe
the requested accommodation would change the nature of the
employment. These procedures also require the human
resources offices to notify applicants and employees in
writing about the action taken on their request.
- Many Kansas agencies have incorporated procedures into
their "reasonable accommodation forms." Managers are
reminded of the steps they must take as part of the
reasonable accommodation process and who to contact for
assistance. For example, the Kansas Department of Social
and Rehabilitation Services requires that managers identify
the specific limitations resulting from a disability that
require accommodation. The form also provides an example.
In this way, the form helps to ensure that managers ask
questions if the precise nature of the limitation is
unclear.
- Training and Centralized Control of Accommodation
Decisions Without Specific Written Procedures: The Utah
Department of Human Services (DHS) chose to use a highly
centralized system wherein management is directed to contact
the ADA Coordinator in the DHS Human Resources office
immediately regarding any and all accommodation requests. The
ADA Coordinator works with the employee to determine what
accommodation is needed, and works with management to implement
any accommodation granted. The Utah DHS uses this system
instead of providing detailed reasonable accommodation
procedures to managers and supervisors. DHS reports that it
believes this more centralized approach fosters
confidentiality, facilitates agency-wide consistency, and
minimizes the possibility of imposing inappropriate discipline
for "disability-based" conduct.
2. Timelines
The ADA does not prescribe a specific time frame within which
reasonable accommodations must be provided; however,
accommodations must be provided without undue delay. The amount
of time necessary to provide an accommodation may depend on
factors such as the nature of the accommodation, the complexity
of the decision-making process (e.g., whether a disability is
obvious or must be determined by reviewing medical
documentation), and the difficulty of providing the accommodation
(e.g., whether it involves a simple modification of a policy or
the acquisition of equipment).
Despite the various factors that may affect the length of time
needed to provide an accommodation, the use of timelines in
reasonable accommodation procedures emphasizes the importance of
prompt processing of accommodation requests, promotes
accountability of those involved in the accommodation process
(including the requester), and serves as a guide for assessing,
and where necessary, revising procedures.
Two states - Florida and Kansas - reported to us that at least
some of their agencies have reasonable accommodation procedures
that include timelines. For example, the Florida Department of
Education requires division directors to notify the ADA
Coordinator of all requests for reasonable accommodation within
two business days. The Kansas Department of Social and
Rehabilitation Services requires a decision within 30 calendar
days of the date on which an accommodation was requested.
3. Denial of Reasonable Accommodation
Not every requested accommodation can or should be granted.
However, an employer can minimize the chance that an
accommodation will be inappropriately denied by: (1) establishing
procedures that ensure the denial has been properly reviewed and
can be justified; and/or (2) providing employees with an
opportunity to have an initial denial reviewed.
- Florida's Department of State's Reasonable Accommodation
Record requires managers to explain, among other things, why an
accommodation was not provided and requires that denials be
submitted to the Department's Bureau of Human Resources prior
to denying the accommodation. This helps ensure that denials
are properly justified and all possible accommodations have
been considered.
- Utah ADA Coordinators are trained to notify the State
Division of Risk Management before denying any request
for accommodation so that it may review the proposed denial for
legal sufficiency. To provide additional incentive to ADA
Coordinators to complete this step, the Utah state
administrative rules governing risk management expressly
exclude liability coverage for any covered entity (e.g. all
school districts, all state colleges and universities, and all
state agencies) on any failure to provide accommodation claim
under the ADA or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act unless
the covered entity has: (1) notified Risk Management of its
preliminary intention not to provide the requested
accommodation, and (2) allowed Risk Management a reasonable
opportunity to consult with the covered entity before denying
the requested accommodation.
- Vermont has created a Reasonable Accommodation Committee
(RAC), consisting of six members from various state departments
and agencies, to review department or agency requests for
reasonable accommodation and provide an "advisory opinion" as
to whether an accommodation should be granted. Any employee who
is dissatisfied with a department's or agency's response to a
reasonable accommodation request may file an appeal with the
RAC. The RAC conducts a review to analyze a job's essential
functions, reviews medical documentation and the individual's
suggested accommodation(s), determines whether a requested
accommodation would pose an undue hardship, and investigates
other possible accommodations.
- The statewide policy in Washington requires an agency to
provide evidence supporting its decision to deny a reasonable
accommodation (e.g., evidence that shows why an accommodation
would result in undue hardship). A denial of an accommodation
must be signed by the head of the employing agency or his/her
designee. An agency that wants to deny an accommodation for
reasons related to cost should consider whether resources are
available from other sources within the state government. (See
Part II.A.4, below.)
4. Documenting and Tracking Requests for Reasonable
Accommodation
Documenting and tracking information about reasonable
accommodation requests can help employers evaluate their
performance in responding to them and implement measures to
improve performance where necessary. Among other things,
documenting and tracking may enable a state agency to determine
how long it takes to respond to requests for different types of
reasonable accommodations; whether there are particular types of
reasonable accommodations that the employer has been unable to
provide; whether there are agency components that have not
granted requests for reasonable accommodations; and the reasons
for denials. Where, for example, there have been repeated delays
in the processing of reasonable accommodation requests, an agency
can investigate the reasons for the problem and take steps
necessary to correct it.
It may be helpful to document the request for accommodation
and the steps taken in response to the request.
- Although requests for reasonable accommodation do not have
to be made in writing, agencies in two states - Florida and
Washington - use forms to ensure accuracy in handling a
request. Florida's Department of Transportation's form
prominently includes the toll-free phone and TTY number for the
Job Accommodation Network (JAN), http://www.jan.wvu.edu (800-526-7234),
and requires managers to indicate whether they contacted JAN.
This reminds managers of important resources available to help
with the accommodation process.
- The New Hampshire Department of Education, when providing
reasonable accommodation, provides a letter from the Human
Resources Administrator that sets out every element of the
accommodation. With respect to more complex accommodations in
particular, such a letter makes clear to both the employee and
employer what is and is not being provided, the employer's
expectations for satisfactory completion of work, and a basis
on which the effectiveness of the accommodation can be
evaluated. A sample letter from New Hampshire granting a
request to work at home as a reasonable accommodation
illustrates the kind of specific information included. Among
other things, the letter notes: (1) the reasons that working at
home was found to be an appropriate accommodation, including
alternatives that were considered; (2) the number of hours the
employee must work each day; (3) the equipment that the agency
and employee will be responsible for providing; (4) a
requirement that the employee be available by telephone during
working hours; and (5) the extent to which the employee must
come to the worksite or a location other than the home to meet
with agency personnel.
- The Utah Department of Human Services, Office of Human
Resources (DHS-HR) keeps logs of every approval of an
accommodation request as well as copies of all denial letters.
This information is reported to the Director of the DHS HR. In
addition, Utah ADA Coordinators are trained to track
accommodation request information by preparing the following,
based in part on documents they receive during their training:
(1) a letter to the requestor if it is determined he or she is
not an individual with a disability; (2) a memorandum to the
requestor's manager if it is determined that even though the
requestor is not an individual with a disability some action
should be taken; (3) a memorandum to the requestor's manager if
it is determined that the requestor is an individual with a
disability necessitating accommodation; and (4) a letter to the
requestor if it is determined that no accommodation is possible
within his or her current position, or no vacant position
exists for which he or she is qualified with respect to
reassignment.
Two states reported on measures undertaken to identify the
extent to which accommodations were granted or denied.
- In fiscal year 2001, various Maryland agencies began
tracking annual statistical information regarding the provision
of reasonable accommodations to state government applicants and
employees. By fiscal year 2003, nineteen state agencies
participated in tracking and reporting this data, which was
included in the annual "Statewide Equal Employment Opportunity
Report." The data collected reflects the number of
accommodation requests received from applicants and from
employees, how many of those requests were granted and denied,
and how many remain pending.
- In 2003, the Vermont Department of Personnel and the
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation commissioned the
University of Vermont's Center for Rural Studies to conduct a
survey of classified state employees concerning disability and
diversity issues in the workplace. The survey was mailed using
stratified, random sampling, and resulted in a response rate of
45%, for an overall sample size of 1,443. Among other things,
the survey revealed that:
- Approximately 17% of state employee respondents
identified themselves as having a disability within the
meaning of the ADA, closely matching 2000 Census results
for the general population in Vermont.
- Of those self-identified disabled state employees, 45%
said that their disability had started before they came to
work for the state, and 68% said that their primary
disabling condition was physical.
- More than half of the 38% who indicated that they had
requested accommodations responded that they had no
problems receiving them, and of the few who encountered
problems, 25% received accommodations other than the ones
they had requested. Only 3% ever felt that they had been
discriminated against in the workplace based on their
disability, either by other state employees or by the
public.
5. Centralized Funding for the Cost of Reasonable
Accommodations
The ADA does not require a statewide source for funding
reasonable accommodations. However, a centralized funding source
may promote the hiring of people with disabilities by removing
disincentives that result from concerns that the cost of
reasonable accommodations will be charged against the budgets of
individual offices, departments, or agencies. Such a funding
scheme makes sense, moreover, because the ADA would likely
require assessment of whether the cost of a particular
accommodation would pose an undue hardship in light of the
resources available to an entire state agency or potentially to
the state as a whole.
None of the states we surveyed appear to have a statewide
mechanism for funding reasonable accommodations. However, two
states - Utah and Washington - reported promising practices that
allow individual state agencies to draw upon resources in
addition to their own budgets to pay for at least some
accommodations.
- While the Utah Division of Risk Management expects each
state agency to pay for its own costs of providing
accommodations to applicants and employees, the Division
periodically helps defray some or all of these costs on request
from individual agencies that can demonstrate they do not have
the resources to cover the costs of a particular accommodation.
The Division has used this system to help fund technological
equipment purchases as well as structural modifications to
facilities.
- Established by the legislature in 1987, Washington's
Department of Personnel's Disability Accommodation Revolving
Fund is used to make unanticipated worksite modifications for
which an agency or institution does not have the financial
resources. The funds can be disbursed within two weeks after
they are requested.
6. Ensuring the Confidentiality of Medical Information
The ADA requires that all medical information obtained from an
applicant or employee be kept separate from personnel files and
treated as a confidential medical record. Disclosures of
confidential medical information are permitted only in very
limited circumstances, including to supervisors and managers in
connection with work restrictions or necessary accommodations.
(9)
The effectiveness of an employer's reasonable accommodation
procedures depend to a great extent on the ability to ensure
individuals with disabilities that confidentiality of their
medical information will be maintained. Applicants or employees
(particularly those with hidden disabilities) may be more likely
to ask for an accommodation if they know that information they
disclose to support their requests will not be shared with
co-workers or with other individuals who do not need the
information.
Utah reported promising practices to ensure compliance with
the ADA's confidentiality requirements:
- The Utah state government has developed a warning notice
that is included on various documents subject to the ADA
confidentiality provision, such as memoranda from the ADA
Coordinator to a supervisor advising that an accommodation has
been granted and should be provided. The notice states: "This
memorandum must not be placed in a personnel file or co-mingled
with personnel records. It is subject to the protections
articulated in the Americans with Disabilities Act . . .
."
- Additionally, Utah's statewide Department of Human Resource
Management Rule 2-5, "Records," specifically provides that all
state agencies shall maintain a separate file from the
personnel file if the agency obtains any confidential employee
medical information, including "all written and orally obtained
information pertaining to medical issues, including Family and
Medical Leave Act forms, medical and dental enrollment forms
which contain health-related information, health statements,
applications for additional life insurance, fitness for duty
evaluations, drug testing results and any other medical
information." Employees who violate these confidentiality
requirements are subject to state disciplinary procedures.
B. Innovative Accommodation Solutions
The following section discusses the ways that some states may
exceed the ADA's reasonable accommodation obligation, as well as
numerous methods for promoting the provision of accommodations
required by the law.
1. Measures that Exceed ADA Obligations
Although state employers are required to provide reasonable
accommodations only to qualified individuals with disabilities,
taking measures that go beyond this legal obligation may make
sense under certain circumstances. For example, providing an
accommodation so that someone with a temporary, non-chronic
condition of short duration can continue working may enable an
employer to benefit from the employee's continued productivity on
the job and save the employer costs (such as workers'
compensation) of having the employee out of work. Temporary
accommodations may enable a worker who has made a request for
reasonable accommodation under the ADA to continue working while
a final determination of whether to grant or deny the
accommodation is being made. A state might even determine that
accommodating individuals on a longer-term basis who do not
technically meet the ADA's definition of "disability" is
preferable to losing a valuable worker.
- Some Kansas state agencies have chosen to go beyond the
requirements of the ADA reasonable accommodation obligation.
For example, the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation
Services' Human Resource Policy states that the agency is
committed to providing accommodations to individuals with
temporary or short-term disabilities which are not covered by
the ADA. The agency defines "temporary" as lasting no more than
90 days.
- Missouri's Office of Administration (OA) has implemented an
Early Return to Work program. The goal of the program is to
facilitate the return to work of employees who are injured or
contract an occupational disease in the course and scope of
employment with the Office. (10) Under the terms of the program as
set forth in an OA policy statement, employees will be placed
in "temporary modified duty assignments during the course of
the recovery to perform duties consistent with temporary
limitations." The program states that modified assignments will
last no more than three months, although longer assignments are
possible in exceptional circumstances. Employees participating
in the program retain their current position and job
classification, continue to receive their current salary and
benefits, and maintain their seniority, layoff, and other
similar rights.
- Washington's Department of Personnel's website has
"Diversity Chat," a series of articles addressing reasonable
accommodation issues under the ADA and showing how Washington
state law exceeds federal requirements.
2. Accommodation Solutions Related to Assistive
Technology
- Missouri's Office of Administration encompasses the
Missouri Assistive Technology (MAT) program. The program offers
assistance to state agencies that have hired or may consider
hiring disabled individuals. Specifically, the MAT operates the
Equipment Technology Consortium a short-term assistive
technology equipment loan program for Missouri state agencies.
Under the program, agencies can borrow equipment on behalf of
individuals with disabilities to try out the equipment before
purchasing, for use during the time equipment is in repair, or
for other short-term needs.
- In Washington, the Department of General Administration
(GA) has established a central pool of assistive technology.
Agencies and institutions may borrow equipment from the pool.
To reserve equipment, such as assistive listening systems for
people with hearing impairments, agencies simply call GA at
least a week prior to the event.
- The Braille Access Center is a program set up by the
Washington State Department of Corrections, Department of
Printing and the Washington State School for the Blind that
uses inmate labor to transcribe materials into Braille.
- A State Taping Center was developed at Central Washington
University to provide all state agencies and institutions with
the capacity to produce audio versions of print materials.
Employers must make sure that, once hired, individuals with
disabilities have the tools they need to succeed and the same
opportunities for advancement as other employees. In addition to
practices specifically designed to provide opportunities for
advancement, this part also considers how periodic training can
work to prevent discrimination.
A. Activities That Specifically Promote the Retention and
Advancement of Employees with Disabilities
The Maryland Aviation Administration specifically addresses in
its bi-annual supervisory ADA training the issue of how to
promote career development for individuals with disabilities.
Using the publication "Career Development for Persons with
Disabilities," produced in 2000 by the President's Committee on
Employment of People with Disabilities (11) and available online at www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/ek00career.htm as
a resource, the training addresses topics such as:
- discussing career expectations with each employee;
- evaluating the employee's interests, talents, and skills,
and developing appropriate goals;
- encouraging lateral movements, job rotations, and team
assignments that will give employees problem-solving skills and
leadership opportunities;
- facilitating networking by including individuals with
disabilities in formal workgroups and informal employee
gatherings;
- encouraging mentoring;
- ensuring training opportunities, and
- emphasizing an employee's responsibility for
self-development.
B. Training
Most of the states we surveyed indicated that training on the
ADA is provided for managers and supervisors either on a
statewide or agency-wide basis. Section I.C, above, identifies
some of the training states provide on the recruitment and hiring
process. The following are a few examples of more comprehensive
training specifically on issues concerning disability and
employment.
- In Kansas, some state agencies have developed comprehensive
training curricula for managers which emphasize practical
approaches to dealing with ADA issues. Certain agencies also
recognize the need for advanced training that focuses on
specific issues. For example, the Kansas Department of Social
and Rehabilitation Services has developed advanced ADA training
addressing complex issues involving reasonable accommodation,
essential functions, confidentiality, mental disabilities, and
alcoholism and drug addiction. The training also provides an
"Essential Function Flow Chart" to make it easier for managers
to determine whether a specific function is essential.
- The Maryland Department of Transportation has produced a
flyer, "ADA, MDOT, and You," that is given to all new employees
at orientation. The flyer explains ADA reasonable accommodation
obligations and explains that the ADA prohibits interference,
coercion, intimidation, or retaliation against individuals
exercising their ADA rights. New hires are also provided with a
detailed flyer explaining how to receive and make telephone
calls using the Maryland Relay system.
- In 2001, the Maryland Department of Budget and Management
sponsored an ADA "Train the Trainer" Conference, the purpose of
which was to provide ADA training by state and federal ADA
expert trainers that could then be replicated by the conference
attendees on a large scale and an ongoing basis for managers
and supervisors at their own state workforce locations.
Approximately 275 state agency representatives, including ADA
Coordinators, Fair Employment Practice Officers, Employee
Assistance and Employee Relations Personnel, EEO Officers,
Human Resources Managers, Recruitment and Examination Managers,
and Training Officers attended. In addition to information
about a wide range of ADA topics, the conference also included
training on disability etiquette and sensitivity issues to
raise consciousness about common missteps in interacting with
individuals with disabilities.
- In 1997, the Maryland Department of Budget and Management
issued a reference booklet, entitled The Americans with
Disabilities Act and Employment Guidelines, to all ADA
coordinators statewide. The booklet provides a concise overview
of a variety of ADA statutory and regulatory terms.
- The Maryland Aviation Administration ADA training for
supervisors includes distribution and discussion of the EEOC
Technical Assistance Manual on Title I of the ADA, as well as
various Department of Labor publications, available at http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/publicat.htm,
addressing how to prepare for and conduct an effective job
interview consistent with the ADA, making management decisions
about accommodations, and examples of accommodation problems
and solutions.
- The Utah Department of Human Services provides periodic
detailed training to ADA Coordinators statewide and training
for supervisors. One of the most significant topics addressed
in the training is the relationship between the ADA, the Family
and Medical Leave Act, and workers' compensation law. Utah ADA
Coordinators are also given formal training on tips and best
practices, follow-up, and paperwork associated with handling
requests for accommodations.
- Beginning in 1992, the Governor of Washington sponsored
several full-day training sessions on the ADA and provided
operating funds for a team of ADA trainers that conducted
customized training for small to large groups throughout state
government. The Governor's ADA Coordinator, Governor's
Committee on Disability Issues and Employment and the Attorney
General's Office jointly developed and presented a series of
nine, half-day training sessions on such topics as: reasonable
accommodation and undue hardship; essential functions; direct
threat; medical examinations and disability related inquiries;
ADA, worker's compensation, and the Family and Medical Leave
Act; disciplinary actions and terminations under the ADA; and
accommodating people with psychiatric disabilities. This series
was repeated three times from 1994 through 2000, with an
average attendance for each training session of more than 100
state employees, predominantly supervisors or human resource
specialists.
Some training on disability has been incorporated into
training on diversity issues more generally.
- Florida's Agency for Health Care reported that its cultural
diversity training (required for all supervisors) has been
expanded to include disability and explores issues about
workers' potential discomfort relating to people with
disabilities.
- Information about individuals with disabilities is included
as part of diversity training initiated by Vermont Governor Jim
Douglas. The Governor offered this training first to his
Extended Cabinet and then throughout the leadership team within
state government. The program reinforces the value of an
engaged, diverse workforce and sets standards of
accountability.
All of the states we surveyed undertake a number of practices,
in addition to traditional vocational rehabilitation services, to
promote the employment of people with disabilities in both the
public and private sectors. The following sections describe some
of the most significant practices, including legislative and
executive action, internships, and public/private
partnerships.
A. Legislative and Executive Actions
- During its 2004 session, the Florida legislature created a
new agency within the state called the Agency for Persons with
Disabilities. The agency's mission is devoted entirely to
helping persons with developmental disabilities enhance their
quality of living through, among other things, improved
housing, employment, and transportation opportunities. The
agency will also focus on ways to use public funds more
efficiently and effectively.
- Under Executive Order 04-62, Florida created a Blue Ribbon
Task Force on Inclusive Community Living, Transition, and
Employment of Persons with Developmental Disabilities. The Task
Force is charged with coordinating the provision of transition
services statewide for students with developmental disabilities
as they leave school and attempt to gain employment. The Task
Force also wants to expand and improve competitive, integrated
employment opportunities for individuals with developmental
disabilities. On December 15, 2004, the Task Force submitted a
report to the Governor on achieving these objectives, including
86 recommendations for legislative or regulatory action, and a
semi-annual progress report on implementing these
recommendations was submitted on July 15, 2005. The reports and
information about Task Force activities are available at
http://apd.myflorida.com/.
- Also by executive order, Florida established the Americans
with Disabilities Act Working Group to provide information and
technical assistance to state agencies and people with
disabilities on the requirements of the ADA, including its
employment provisions. The Working Group provides
individualized assistance to state agencies seeking practical
information on how to comply with the ADA's employment
provisions. Applicants for state jobs and state employees also
can use the Working Group's services to clarify their rights
and responsibilities under the ADA. A subsequent executive
order added a clearinghouse to the Working Group's mandate, the
purpose of which is to make information on disability resources
and services more easily obtainable. The clearinghouse also
provides information on job opportunities, including jobs with
state agencies.
- State legislation enacted in Maryland elevated the former
Governor's Office for Individuals with Disabilities to
cabinet-level status. Established on July 1, 2004, the
Department is charged with overseeing the implementation of
funding and services for persons with disabilities and
facilitating state compliance with federal requirements such as
the ADA.
- The New Mexico State Use Act opens up state service
contracts to persons with disabilities, including contracts to
provide service to the state as business owners and
entrepreneurs. The State Use Act also enhances the ability of
the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Commission
for the Blind to purchase products and services that are needed
for individuals with disabilities receiving vocational
rehabilitation services.
- In Vermont, the Governor's Workforce Equity and Diversity
Council (GWEDC) was created by Executive Order to lead the
state's efforts in the areas of affirmative action and
diversity by acting as a consultant and advisor to the
Commissioner of Human Resources and the Secretary of
Administration. The mission of the GWEDC calls for a greater
focus on supporting a workplace culture that promotes equitable
treatment for all and the value of workplace diversity. The
Council, consisting of representatives from designated state
entities, the state employees union, and ten members appointed
by the Governor, includes strong representation from the
disability community.
- The Governor of Washington established the Washington State
Governor's Task Force on Employment of Adults with
disabilities, which brings together business leaders,
legislators, program and policy staff, and disability community
advocates to create a coordinated and aggressive state policy
to bring adults with disabilities into gainful employment at a
rate as close as possible to that of the general public.
Outcomes achieved by the Task Force include:
- creation of a clearinghouse that provides employers
with a single point of contact for recruiting applicants
who have disabilities and for technical assistance;
- enactment of a Medicaid buy-in for workers with
disabilities with a high income cap (450% of federal
poverty level, in gross income) and no asset test;
- creation of broad-based partnerships and continuing
coordination around such issues as implementation of the
Ticket-to-Work program and improving access, services and
outcomes for people with disabilities under the Workforce
Investment Act; and
- a Careers Day program, developed and funded by
Microsoft, for high school students with disabilities,
their teachers, and parents.
B. Access to Information and Assistive Technology
The efforts that several states have undertaken to provide
individuals with disabilities access to information communicated
on state agency websites, and to provide access to assistive
technology are noteworthy. Three states - Florida, Kansas, and
New Hampshire - have taken significant steps to ensure a level of
accessibility of state websites that meets or exceeds the level
of accessibility required of the federal government under Section
508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Section 508 requires that all
electronic and information technology purchased, maintained, or
used by the federal government be "readily accessible to and
usable by individuals with disabilities" unless this would cause
"undue hardship." This commitment will assist applicants with
disabilities in using websites to learn about and apply for jobs
with state agencies, current state employees with disabilities
who use assistive technology to do their jobs, and individuals
with disabilities looking for resources related to employment in
both the public and private sectors. The Brown University Center
for Public Policy's annual study of state and federal
e-government found that Kansas has the second highest percentage
of accessible web sites for people with disabilities, and that
New Hampshire ranks fourth.
C. Internship Programs
The Maryland Department of Budget and Management sponsored the
Governor's QUEST Internship Program for Persons with
Disabilities. Initiated in 2000, the program provides three-month
internships in state government, with the possibility of an
extension. QUEST, which stands for "Quality, Understanding,
Excellence, Success, and Training," is a training/learning
experience for customers of the state's Department of
Rehabilitation Services, designed to enhance the participants'
knowledge, skills, and abilities while working at a state agency.
The internship program has included positions such as
Communications and Marketing Trainee, Activity Therapy Aide,
Graphics Assistant, Dietary Worker, Fiscal Accounts Clerk,
Medicaid Program Associate, Maintenance Assistance, Office Clerk,
Junior Accountant, Computer Information Services Specialist,
Parole & Probation Caseload Aide, Residential Program
Advisor, Buyer's Clerk, Real Estate Administrative Assistant,
Publications and Community Relations Trainee, Payroll Clerk, and
Personnel Associate.
QUEST interns receive a $3,000 stipend. While there is no
implied offer of employment to participants beyond the volunteer
period, a number of past interns have applied for and been placed
into positions based on the experience gained in their
internship. The state reports that approximately 50% of all past
QUEST interns are presently employed in their target job areas in
either private or public sector positions.
D. Public/Private Partnerships
Three states - Florida, Missouri, and Vermont - identified
partnerships they have with business and/or community
organizations to promote the employment of individuals with
disabilities.
- Florida has established the Able Trust, also known as the
Florida Governor's Alliance for the Employment of Citizens with
Disabilities, a 501(c)(3) public-private partnership
foundation. Since its establishment, the Able Trust has awarded
over $16 million to individuals with disabilities and nonprofit
agencies, and helped approximately 2,000 individuals with
disabilities annually to enter the workforce. Among the
projects supported by the Trust are: on-the-job coaching,
supported employment, job skills-training, job development,
employer outreach, and ADA facility compliance.
- The Missouri Governor's Council on Disability has worked
with several large employers in encouraging mentoring and job
shadowing by persons with disabilities in private sector jobs.
The Council also has worked with other state agencies to hold
several "Disability Resource Expos," which brought state
rehabilitation agencies, schools, providers of medical
equipment and assistive technology, and employers together so
that future employees and employers could share information and
make an employment match.
- The Vermont Governor's Summit on Employment of People with
Disabilities brings together key stakeholders (e.g., state
departments, business leaders, and community organizations) to
plan and deliver discussions on current issues relating to
employing people with disabilities. Previous summits have
addressed: key issues and concerns facing job seekers with
disabilities; barriers to transportation; mental illness; and
youth and transition to work.
- The Business Leadership Networks (BLN) in Florida and
Vermont are dedicated to assisting businesses and organizations
in the recruitment, hiring, training and retention of people
with disabilities and in diversifying their customer base to
include people with disabilities. BLNs provide businesses with
a means of communicating with one another about best practices
and successes that they have had in hiring qualified
individuals with disabilities. Further information on the
Florida BLN is available at http://www.myabilities.org.
E. Other State Actions That Promote the Employment of People
with Disabilities
- The Florida Freedom Initiative (FFI) is a demonstration
project that aims to reduce disincentives to work by allowing
recipients of Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
to work and save money while continuing to receive vital
benefits. Florida has received a waiver from the Social
Security Administration allowing FFI participants to earn
significantly more than the law generally permits before their
benefits will be reduced. Additionally, FFI participants may
save up to $10,000 annually to purchase, lease, or modify a
home; to purchase, lease or maintain a car; to obtain
additional education; or to purchase or expand a small business
(called a "microenterprise") without losing benefits. More
information about the FFI is available at http://apd.myflorida.com/ffi.
- Florida adopted a five-year initiative in 2003 to expand
the state's Developmental Disabilities Program's emphasis on
employment. The Program will divert 25% of people receiving
Adult Day Training Services into competitive employment
opportunities. The initiative seeks to move away from an
emphasis on "prevocational training," which in practice delays
or defers employment, in favor of learning through on-the-job
training and workplace experience.
- Florida's Able Trust (see Section IV.D, above)
sponsors twenty High School/High Tech programs throughout the
state with plans to implement ten new sites by the end of 2005.
Through the High School/High Tech program, students are
encouraged to set their sites on college and a career in the
fields of science, technology, engineering or math. Students
with disabilities enrolled in High School/High Tech sites
across Florida take field trips to science and
technology-related businesses and attractions and receive
on-the-job experiences through job shadowing and internships.
More than 90 percent of Florida High School/High Tech graduates
have enrolled in post-secondary education or training.
- Florida served as the national kickoff site for Disability
Mentoring Day (DMD) 2005, on October 19. Governor Jeb Bush
served as the Florida DMD Honorary Chair. Across the state,
over one-hundred educators, service providers and state agency
representatives volunteered as Community Liaisons to match
students and job seekers with disabilities with business
mentors for on-site job shadowing activities. Nearly
1,000 Florida students with disabilities were mentored by
business professionals, elected officials and corporate
executives in nearly thirty cities across the state.
- Since 1999, the Maryland Department of Budget and
Management and Department of Disability (formerly the
Governor's Office of Individuals with Disabilities) have
co-sponsored the Disability Employment Workgroup. Its stated
purpose is to develop innovative ways to increase employment
opportunities for individuals with disabilities within state
government, and to ensure low-cost access to high-quality,
current information regarding the ADA for state employees.
- Maryland's "WorkTech" program provides public and private
sector employers with free information, consulting, and
training about job accommodation strategies and the
employability of individuals with disabilities. WorkTech
services include a Universal Workplace demonstration site and
statewide information and consulting services.
- The Missouri Governor's Council on Disability (GCD)
provides training on request for both public and private
employers. In 2004, the Council provided training to the
Missouri Office of Administration, the main personnel
department in the state, as well as to the Department of Labor
and Industrial Relations. The GCD training generally covers the
functions of the Council itself and the assistance it can
provide in addressing the needs of persons with disabilities.
The Council also has provided "sensitivity" training as well as
training on issues associated with employment of persons with
mental disabilities.
- The Missouri Commission on Human Rights, the state agency
charged with enforcing the state's fair employment practices
law, has developed numerous fact sheets on ADA compliance and
posted them on its website. The Commission also provides ADA
training to public and private employers, including training on
"disability awareness."
- In an effort to increase compliance with the ADA, New
Mexico has created a Consortium of ADA State Agency
Coordinators. Led by the New Mexico Commission on Disability,
the Consortium offers ADA Coordinators an opportunity to meet
periodically to share information and correspond more regularly
on an e-mail list. The state believes the Consortium will
significantly increase the ADA Coordinators' knowledge, status,
and effectiveness.
- New Mexico has developed an innovative Medicaid Buy-In
program (Medicaid Category 043) that enables persons who have a
disability and who are working to receive Medicaid despite
earning levels that would otherwise make them ineligible. Also,
persons who are on the Medicare 24-month waiting period and who
lost Supplemental Security Income due to the start of Social
Security Disability Insurance benefits can receive Medicaid so
that they can become sufficiently medically stabilized to
participate in a vocational rehabilitation program and have a
greater chance of returning to work.
- Vermont has partnered with the Social Security
Administration in the Social Security Disability 1 for 2 pilot
project. Under the project SSDI beneficiaries earning more than
the threshold amount for SSDI eligibility will not lose their
entire SSDI benefit. Rather the benefit will be reduced $1 for
every $2 the individual earns over the threshold, thus reducing
disincentives to working.
- Maryland and Vermont received grants from the U.S.
Department of Labor to establish "Disability Program
Navigators." This pilot program is operated out of the states'
Career Resource ("One Stop") Centers. The program is designed
to assist people with disabilities who are seeking training in
job skills and who need help in "navigating" the employment
application process and to ensure that employers have access
both to qualified candidates with disabilities and the
disability-related information and resources they need. This
program also provides information on employment support
programs, such as the Social Security Administration's
Ticket-to-Work Program.
- Seven states have established Youth Leadership Forum (YLF)
programs for high school students with disabilities. The YLF is
a national program that has been replicated by more than 25
states. YLF programs in Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri,
Vermont, and Washington annually bring together thirty to forty
high school juniors and seniors to participate in several days
of activities designed to help them develop vocational goals,
strengthen leadership skills, and learn from the experiences of
other youth and adults with disabilities.
The following section details practices that we think may be
inadvertent barriers to the hiring, retention, and advancement of
qualified individuals with disabilities in state government jobs
or lead to violations of the ADA. In many instances, the action
necessary to remove a particular barrier will be obvious or may
be suggested by some of the best practices outlined in Section I
through IV of this report. This section also proposes some
possible solutions to several of the potential barriers we have
identified.
A. Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunity
Policies
- Some states or state agencies fail to post
nondiscrimination policies prominently or have policies that
fail to reference all applicable laws that affect individuals
with disabilities (e.g., that mention section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act but not the ADA). States should ensure that
managers, employees, and applicants are aware of all state and
federal non-discrimination laws that apply to employment,
including Title I of the ADA.
- Some equal employment opportunity and affirmative action
policies fail to include disability. In other instances,
affirmative action policies mention disability, but no specific
efforts are being made to increase the representation of
individuals with disabilities in the workforce, such as
targeted outreach to organizations of or for individuals with
disabilities.
B. Reasonable Accommodation Policies
Our review of state personnel and reasonable accommodation
policies disclosed the following misstatements or omissions
concerning the obligation to provide reasonable accommodation,
and statements that may be misapplied and result in the
inappropriate denial of a reasonable accommodation.
- Reasonable Accommodations for the Application
Process: States or state agencies sometimes failed to
provide important information about reasonable accommodations
related to the application process, including: (1) a
prominently displayed statement that such accommodations are
available; (2) instructions for what an individual with a
disability must do to request a reasonable accommodation for
the application process; and (3) contact information for
applicants who need to request reasonable accommodations that
does not include a TTY number.
- Failure to Mention Accommodations Related to the
"Benefits and Privileges of Employment": The ADA requires
employers to provide reasonable accommodations that enable
individuals with disabilities to enjoy the same benefits and
privileges of employment that are available to other employees.
The benefits and privileges of employment include access to
parts of an employer's facility that are available to all
employees (e.g., cafeterias or break rooms), as well as
participation in employer-sponsored training, services (e.g.,
Employee Assistance Programs), or social functions. States may
want to make it clear that their policies with respect to
reasonable accommodations include providing accommodations
related to the benefits and privileges of employment to ensure
that individuals with disabilities will request such
accommodations if needed and to avoid improper denials.
- Limiting Accommodations to Individuals with "Permanent"
Conditions: Reasonable accommodation policies should not
limit the availability of reasonable accommodations to
individuals with "permanent" conditions. Under the ADA,
impairments do not have to be permanent; they can also be
long-term, potentially long-term, or of unknown or unknowable
duration.
- Requiring That Reasonable Accommodations Benefit "Other
Employees": A reasonable accommodation policy should not
require an individual with a disability to justify an
accommodation request by providing information about how the
accommodation will benefit other employees and should not
instruct managers or supervisors to seek such information.
Although a reasonable accommodation may benefit someone other
than the individual with a disability who is seeking it, this
fact is not legally relevant when assessing whether an
accommodation must be provided.
- Prohibitions on Working at Home: Working at home
is a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. Policies that
generally prohibit telework, emphasize liability concerns
related to allowing employees to work from home, encourage
employees to use leave instead of working at home, and allow
telework only in extenuating circumstances may result in
improper denials of telework as a reasonable accommodation. A
state employer may retain a general policy against telework,
but might specifically state in the policy that telework is
available as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA, absent
undue hardship.
- Improper Limits on Reassignment as a Reasonable
Accommodation: Some state or agency policies limit the
reassignment search to the employee's current agency or to the
agencies within his current department, rather than providing
for statewide reassignment.
- Limits on Resources Available to Pay for Reasonable
Accommodations: Some state agencies require that the cost
of a reasonable accommodation be paid by the organizational
unit where the employee is located or where the position is
budgeted. This statement is legally inaccurate to the extent it
ignores the fact that the determination of whether the
accommodation would pose an undue hardship will be made in
light of the budget of the entire state agency and perhaps the
state as a whole. As a practical matter, the statement may
serve as a disincentive for a particular office or
organizational unit within a larger agency to hire someone who
requires a reasonable accommodation that will involve some
cost.
C. Training
Training that contains erroneous, misleading, or ambiguous
information can lead agency managers to violate the ADA. States
should ensure that training manuals and curricula are carefully
checked for legal accuracy. Following are some of the legal
inaccuracies we discovered during the course of our review.
1. Training Related to the Hiring Process
- An employer may ask an applicant with a known disability to
describe or demonstrate how he or she would perform a job only
when the employer has a reasonable belief that the person may
have trouble performing a specific job function because of the
disability. Training materials should clearly state this
standard and should not state or suggest that an applicant's
known disability is alone sufficient to justify an employer's
request that the applicant describe or demonstrate job
performance.
- It may be misleading to state that a job offer may be
conditioned on passing a medical examination without also
making it clear that the examination must wait until
after a bona fide job offer has been extended.
- Stating that all post-offer medical examinations must be
job-related and consistent with business necessity under the
ADA is not accurate. While this may be true under some state
laws, the ADA permits employers to conduct any type of medical
examination they wish, as long as all individuals entering a
certain job category are given the same examination. States
should present any additional limitations on post-offer medical
examinations as state requirements or best practices, and not
as ADA requirements.
2. Training on Reasonable Accommodation
- Instructing supervisors or managers NOT to make long-term
"modifications" to job duties, but only "temporary"
modifications for "a short-term illness/injury" is legally
inaccurate, as is the instruction that accommodations can be
provided "only" for "permanent" substantially limiting
impairments. Long-term modifications, such as elimination of a
marginal function, may indeed be required as a reasonable
accommodation if undue hardship cannot be shown. Furthermore,
reasonable accommodation is required for more than short-term
illnesses or injuries, though an impairment need not be
"permanent" to qualify as a disability under the ADA.
- Statements in some training for state ADA Coordinators that
reasonable accommodations are not available to individuals who
have a "record of" or are "regarded as" having a disability may
not accurately reflect the law in the federal circuit where the
state is located or may fail to take account of the fact that
the issue is unresolved in some circuits.
- Managers should not be instructed to give a medical form to
all employees requesting reasonable accommodation. An
employer may request medical information to support an
accommodation request only from those individuals
whose disability and/or need for accommodation are not
obvious.
- Some state training materials instruct ADA Coordinators and
management that an employee seeking reassignment as an
accommodation has the burden to notify the employer of any
known vacant position for which he or she is qualified. The ADA
generally assigns to the employer responsibility for
identifying vacancies, while the individual with a disability
is responsible for providing information that might aid the
employer in its search, such as information about
qualifications.
3. Sovereign Immunity
- Some states incorrectly train ADA Coordinators or
management that the state cannot be sued for monetary damages.
In fact, although the Supreme Court's decision in Univ. of
Alabama v. Garrett, 531 U.S. 356 (2001), limits the relief
available in ADA employment discrimination suits brought by
individuals against state employers to injunctive relief, the
federal government may still bring suit against state employers
under the ADA for monetary relief.
We are encouraged by many of our findings concerning state
best practices aimed at recruiting and hiring qualified
individuals with disabilities. These practices include not only
the establishment of some training and hiring programs
specifically for individuals with disabilities, but more
significantly, efforts to increase the number of qualified
applicants with disabilities for jobs available to the general
public. Ultimately, however, very limited data is available
concerning the number of individuals with disabilities who
applied or were hired for state jobs as a direct result of many
of these measures.
Based on information reported by the states, it appears that
individuals involved in the hiring process have access to more
than adequate training on subjects such as interviewing people
with disabilities and preparing job descriptions. The job
announcements that we have examined do not describe jobs in a way
that would inadvertently screen out qualified individuals with
disabilities. In fact, many job announcements and job
descriptions specifically reference the availability of
reasonable accommodations for the application process and on the
job.
The use of written procedures for providing reasonable
accommodations, methods of documenting and tracking the
disposition of requests, and the provision of appeal processes
following denials of reasonable accommodations are also positive
trends in some states. States that have not done so may wish to
consider the adoption of specific timelines for the provision of
reasonable accommodations and use of a centralized funding source
for the provision of more costly accommodations. States might
also examine whether it is possible to use data concerning the
disposition of accommodation requests to revise aspects of their
reasonable accommodation procedures.
With respect to ensuring that individuals with disabilities
are treated fairly once they are on the job, the states we have
surveyed appear to offer significant ongoing training on the ADA
and disability issues for managers and supervisors. We are
particularly encouraged that training on disability issues is
increasingly becoming part of the states' diversity programs.
However, we saw little evidence of mentoring programs or training
opportunities specifically aimed at promoting the advancement of
employees with disabilities after they are hired, or evidence
that the states undertake any measures to determine the
distribution of employees with disabilities among the various
levels of the state government workforce.
Finally, the states we have surveyed have taken a significant
number of steps aimed at increasing the employment of people with
disabilities generally. We particularly commend states for those
efforts initiated by legislative or executive action, as this
sends a clear message "from the top" that the employment of
people with disabilities is a state priority.
Appendix A
State |
Number of Employees |
Personnel Structure for Job Seekers |
Florida |
130,000 |
Florida Department of Management Services develops
state-wide hiring and employment policies, which provide
minimum requirements that all state agencies must follow,
although state agencies have some latitude to exceed these
requirements. |
Kansas |
40,570 |
Each agency establishes its own policies, practices, and
procedures, including policies related to reasonable
accommodation, with assistance from the state's Division of
Personnel Services, Department of Administration where
necessary. |
Maryland |
93,000 |
Maryland has several different personnel systems, each of
which has its own employment policies, practices, and
procedures that apply to the agencies under that system. |
Missouri |
57,596 (12) |
State Office of Administration, Employee Services
Section, is responsible for reviewing job applications for
employment within the Missouri Merit System. For jobs outside
of the merit system, each state agency handles job openings
and hiring. A state web site lists state agencies with direct
links to each agency's internet job posting page. |
New Hampshire |
11,000 |
Division of Personnel coordinates and posts open
recruitment announcements. Applications can be submitted to
the Division of Personnel or to the agency that has the
vacant position. Interviewing and hiring decisions are made
at the agency level. |
New Mexico |
24,687 |
Centralized system: State Personnel Office coordinates
and posts official position announcements. |
Utah |
24,000 |
Large agencies handle own personnel/hiring; smaller state
agencies rely on Department of Human Resource
Management. |
Vermont |
8,000 |
Department of Human Resources develops policies and
procedures to govern statewide human resources management
practices. Interviewing and hiring decisions are the
responsibility of the agency/department hiring official. |
Washington |
98,500 |
Department of Personnel developed state-wide policies
that individual agencies implement. Washington also included
a mix of centralized recruitment for some job classes and
individual agency recruitment for others. (Washington is
transitioning to a system wherein collective bargaining
agreements will establish most personnel policies and
procedures.) |
Appendix B
For more information on best practices noted in this report,
please contact the following individuals:
Florida
Julie M. Shaw
Executive ADA Administrator
Governor's Working Group on the ADA
4030 Esplanade Way, Ste 315K
Tallahassee, Florida 32399
(850) 487-3423
(877) 232-4968 (TTY)
julie.shaw@myflorida.com
Kansas
Anthony A. Fadale
State of Kansas ADA Coordinator
900 SW Jackson, Room 114
Topeka, Kansas 66612
(785) 296-1389
(800) 766-3777 (TTY)
Anthony.Fadale@da.state.ks.us
Maryland
Jade Ann Gingerich
Director of Employment Policy
Maryland Department of Disabilities
217 E. Redwood Avenue, Suite 1301
Baltimore, MD 21202
(410) 767-3651
(800) 735-2258 (TTY)
jgingerich@mdod.state.md.us
Steven D. Serra
Director, Recruitment and Examination Division
Office of Personnel Services and Benefits
Maryland Department of Budget and Management
301 West Preston Street, Suite 608
Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 767-4917
(800) 735-2258 (TTY)
sserra@dbm.state.md.us
Missouri
Robert Honan, Executive Director
Governor's Council on Disability
301 West High Street, Suite 250-A
P. O. Box 1668
Jefferson City, MO 65102-1668
573-751-9326 (voice/TTY)
800-877-8249 (voice/TTY)
robert.honan@oa.mo.gov
New Hampshire
Karen Levchuk
Director of Personnel
25 Capital Street
Concord, NH 03301
(603) 271-3261
Karen.levchuk@nh.gov
Carol A. Nadeau
Executive Director
Governor's Commission on Disability
57 Regional Drive
Concord, NH 03301
(603) 271-6895 (voice/TTY)
carol.nadeau@nh.gov
New Mexico
Mary Beresford
Director, Governor's Commission on Disability
Lamy Building, Room 117
491 Old Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 476-0412
mary.beresford@state.nm.us
Greg Trapp
Executive Director
Commission for the Blind
2200 Yale Blvd. SE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
(505) 841-8844
505-243-6407 (TTY)
greg.trapp@state.nm.us
Utah
John W. Golom
Human Resource Manager
Department of Human Services
State of Utah
(801) 538-4229
(801) 538-4371 (TTY)
jgolom@utah.gov
Vermont
Karen R. Joeckel
Office of the Commissioner
Vermont Department of Human Resources
110 State Street, Drawer 20
Montpelier, VT 05620-3001
(802) 828-3491
kjoeckel@per.state.vt.us
Washington
Toby Olson Executive Secretary Washington State Governor's
Committee on Disability Issues and Employment P.O. Box 9046
Olympia, WA 98507-9046 (360) 438-3168 (360) 438-3167 (TTY)
tolson2@esd.wa.gov
1. See
http://www.eeoc.gov/initiatives/nfi/int_states_best_practices_report.html.
2. 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et
seq.
3. See 42 U.S.C. § 12102.
Pursuant to statutory directive, the United States Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission has issued regulations
implementing Title I of the ADA. Those regulations can be found
at 29 C.F.R. Part 1630.
4. For information on the New Freedom
Initiative, see http://whitehouse.gov/infocus/newfreedom/.
5. EEOC publications on the ADA can be
found at http://www.eeoc.gov/types/ada.html.
6. The ADA considers an individual with a
disability "qualified" if he or she can perform a job's
"essential functions" (or fundamental duties) with or without
reasonable accommodation. See 42 U.S.C. §
12111(8); 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(m).
7. See 42 U.S.C. §
12112(b)(5)(A); 29 C.F.R. Part 1630, app. § 1630.2(o).
8. See 42 U.S.C. §
12112(d); 29 C.F.R. § 1630.13.
9. See 42 U.S.C. §
12112(d)(3)(B), (C), and (4)(C); 29 C.F.R. §
1630.14(b)(1), (c)(1), and (d)(1).
10. Reducing workers' compensation costs
also is listed as a goal of the program.
11. In 2001, the President's Committee
on the Employment of People with Disabilities became part of
the Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment
Policy.
12. Missouri Office of Administration,
Division of Personnel, 2004 Annual Report 21 (available at
http://www.oa.mo.gov/pers/AnnualRpt.pdf).
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