SCOPE AND IMPORTANCE OF
THE ISSUE
Americans enjoy relative security in their everyday lives. Yet,
the threat of emergency situations caused by natural disasters, technological
accidents, or acts of terrorism always looms on the fringes. For Federal
Government employees, the threat has been made reality in recent years.
Examples include the shutting down of federal offices due to Hurricane Isabel
on September 18-19, 2003; the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon on September
11, 2001; and the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal regional building on
April 19, 1995.
Emergency situations impacting Federal Government employees rarely
announce their imminence. Therefore, it is important for government agencies to
assume a position of preparedness for a disaster or threat to human life,
through specific and established plans of action. This condition of
preparedness can only be achieved through thoughtful planning, collaboration,
and steadfast commitment by federal managers, who have been vested with the
responsibility of the safety of their employees.
Research and experience in the last decade demonstrate that the
needs of federal and private sector employees with disabilities are often
omitted during the emergency preparedness planning process. However, since the
tragic events of September 11, 2001, the specific needs of people with
disabilities have been of keen interest, stimulated by accounts of people in
wheelchairs being trapped and left to die in the smoke-filled stairwells of the
World Trade Center in New York.
The ability to evacuate and/or find shelter during an emergency
situation for an employee with a disability can be a daunting task not only for
the person with the disability, but also for his or her employer. Consequently,
emergency preparedness plans that do not address the unique needs of people
with disabilities can limit the employment, promotion, and retention
possibilities of an applicant or existing employee with a disability.
Specifically, employers may be hesitant to recruit people with disabilities as
a result of liability concerns surrounding the ability to secure their safety
during an emergency situation. Similarly, people with disabilities may be
reluctant to seek employment in certain locations due to a fear of being
trapped or not being accommodated in a dangerous situation.
As federal agency emergency plans continue to evolve, it is
important to evaluate all scenarios to ensure they include the requirements for
people with disabilities. By anticipating such needs during the emergency
preparedness planning process, fear and panic can be mitigated and lives can be
saved.
Like other federal agencies, the Department of Labor has been
actively preparing its office spaces and buildings for emergency situations for
all employees, including employees with disabilities. While much has been done,
there remains much to do, in the Department of Labor and throughout the federal
Government, in the Washington, DC area and, particularly, in the regions. The
Seminar of Exchange and this Summary Report are a significant step forward.
BACKGROUND ON THE
SEMINAR
On December 2-3, 2003 the U.S. Department of Labor Office of
Disability Employment Policy hosted Emergency Preparedness for People with
Disabilities: An Interagency Seminar of Exchange for federal Managers at the
Department of Labor headquarters in Washington, DC. The Office of Disability
Employment Policy (ODEP) was created to enhance employment opportunities for
people with disabilities through the development of sound policy regarding
youth and adults with disabilities, public and private sector employers,
employment supports, and employer-focused research.
ODEP’s goal in hosting the Seminar of Exchange was to
highlight the importance of developing emergency preparedness plans in the
federal workplace that include the needs of employees with disabilities. The
agenda for the day and a half Seminar of Exchange was designed to allow more
than 200 participants—consisting of federal managers and other personnel
involved in emergency preparedness—to obtain and share information about
specific issues in the development, implementation, and maintenance of
emergency preparedness plans for people with disabilities.
 The agenda was divided into five general
(plenary) sessions and seven breakout sessions, which repeated over the course
of a day and a half. Nationally and locally recognized experts provided
information and facilitated an exchange of experiences between federal managers
aimed at promoting consistent and effective emergency preparedness practices
that afford equal protection for people with disabilities. As such, the
following were specific objectives of the Seminar:
- To facilitate an exchange of information and dialogue between
federal agencies regarding emergency preparedness for people with
disabilities;
- To provide a forum where federal agencies could discuss the
topic with their regional offices;
- To provide an opportunity for interagency exchange of
effective practices related to emergency preparedness in general, and
specifically to people with disabilities; and
- To enhance existing employer emergency preparedness plans to
include the needs of people with disabilities through the sharing, preparation,
and dissemination of resources.
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