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News
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release March 13, 1998
EXECUTIVE ORDER 13078
INCREASING EMPLOYMENT OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and
the
laws of the United States of America, and in order to increase the
employment of adults with disabilities to a rate that is as close as
possible to the employment rate of the general adult population and to
support the goals articulated in the findings and purpose section of
the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, it is hereby ordered as
follows:
Section 1. Establishment of National Task Force on Employment of
Adults with Disabilities.
(a) There is established the "National Task Force on Employment
of Adults with Disabilities" ("Task Force"). The Task
Force shall
comprise the Secretary of Labor, Secretary of Education, Secretary
of
Veterans Affairs, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Commissioner
of Social Security, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Commerce,
Secretary of Transportation, Director of the Office of Personnel
Management, Administrator of the Small Business Administration, the
Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Chairperson
of the National Council on Disability, the Chair of the President's
Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, and such other
senior executive branch officials as may be determined by the Chair
of
the Task Force.
(b) The Secretary of Labor shall be the Chair of the Task Force;
the Chair of the President's Committee on Employment of People with
Disabilities shall be the Vice Chair of the Task Force.
(c) The purpose of the Task Force is to create a coordinated and
aggressive national policy to bring adults with disabilities into
gainful employment at a rate that is as close as possible to that of
the general adult population. The Task Force shall develop and
recommend to the President, through the Chair of the Task Force, a
coordinated Federal policy to reduce employment barriers for persons
with disabilities. Policy recommendations may cover such areas as
discrimination, reasonable accommodations, inadequate access to health
care, lack of consumer-driven, long-term supports and services,
transportation, accessible and integrated housing, tele-communications,
assistive technology, community services, child care, education,
vocational rehabilitation, training services, job retention, on-the-job
supports, and economic incentives to work. Specifically, the Task
Force shall:
(1) analyze the existing programs and policies of Task
Force member agencies to determine what changes,
modifications, and innovations may be necessary to remove
barriers to work faced by people with disabilities;
(2) develop and recommend options to address health
insurance coverage as a barrier to employment for people
with disabilities;
(3) subject to the availability of appropriations,
analyze State and private disability systems (e.g.,
workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, private
insurance, and State mental health and mental retardation
systems) and their effect on Federal programs and
employment of adults with disabilities;
(4) consider statistical and data analysis, cost data,
research, and policy studies on public subsidies,
employment, employment discrimination, and rates of return-
to-work for individuals with disabilities;
(5) evaluate and, where appropriate, coordinate and
collaborate on, research and demonstration priorities of
Task Force member agencies related to employment of adults
with disabilities;
(6) evaluate whether Federal studies related to
employment and training can, and should, include a
statistically significant sample of adults with
disabilities;
(7) subject to the availability of appropriations,
analyze youth programs related to employment (e.g.,
Employment and Training Administration programs, special
education, vocational rehabilitation, school-to-work
transition, vocational education, and Social Security
Administration work incentives and other programs, as may
be determined by the Chair and Vice Chair of the Task
Force) and the outcomes of those programs for young people
with disabilities;
(8) evaluate whether a single governmental entity or
program should be established to provide computer and
electronic accommodations for Federal employees with
disabilities;
(9) consult with the President's Committee on Mental
Retardation on policies to increase the employment of people
with mental retardation and cognitive disabilities; and
(10) recommend to
the President any additional steps that
can be taken to advance the employment of adults with
disabilities, including legislative proposals, regulatory
changes, and program and budget initiatives.
(d)
(1) The members of the Task Force shall make the activities
and initiatives set forth in this order a high priority within their
respective agencies within the levels provided in the President's
budget.
(2) The Task Force shall issue its first report to the
President by November 15, 1998. The Task Force shall issue a report
to
the President on November 15, 1999, November 15, 2000, and a final
report on July 26, 2002, the 10th anniversary of the initial
implementation of the employment provisions of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990. The reports shall describe the actions taken
by, and progress of, each member of the Task Force in carrying out
this
order. The Task Force shall terminate 30 days after submitting its
final report.
(e) As used herein, an adult with a disability is a person with a
physical or mental impairment that substantially limits at least one
major life activity.
Section 2. Specific activities by Task Force members
and other agencies.
(a) To ensure that the Federal Government is a model employer of
adults with disabilities, by November 15, 1998, the Office of Personnel
Management, the Department of Labor, and the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission shall submit to the Task Force a review of
Federal Government personnel laws, regulations, and policies and, as
appropriate, shall recommend or implement changes necessary to improve
Federal employment policy for adults with disabilities. This review
shall include personnel practices and actions such as: hiring,
promotion, benefits, retirement, workers' compensation, retention,
accessible facilities, job accommodations, layoffs, and reductions
in force.
(b) The Departments of Justice, Labor, Education, and Health and
Human Services shall report to the Task Force by November 15, 1998,
on
their work with the States and others to ensure that the Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act is carried out
in accordance with section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as
amended, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, so that
individuals with disabilities and their families can realize the full
promise of welfare reform by having an equal opportunity for employment.
(c) The Departments of Education, Labor, Commerce, and Health and
Human Services, the Small Business Administration, and the President's
Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities shall work together
and report to the Task Force by November 15, 1998, on their work to
develop small business and entrepreneurial opportunities for adults
with
disabilities and strategies for assisting low-income adults, including
those with disabilities to create small businesses and micro-
enterprises. These same agencies, in consultation with the Committee
for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled, shall
assess the impact of the Randolph-Sheppard Act vending program and
the
Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act on employment and small business opportunities
for people with disabilities.
(d) The Departments of Transportation and
Housing and Urban
Development shall report to the Task Force by November 15, 1998,
on
their examination of their programs to see if they can be used to
create new work incentives and to remove barriers to work for adults
with disabilities.
(e) The Departments of Justice, Education, and Labor, the Equa
Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Social Security
Administration shall work together and report to the Task Force by
November 15, 1998, on their work to propose remedies to the prevention
of people with disabilities from successfully exercising their
employment rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
because of the receipt of monetary benefits based on their disability
and lack of gainful employment.
(f) The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor and
the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce, in cooperation with
the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, the National
Council on Disability, and the President's Committee on Employment
of
People with Disabilities shall design and implement a statistically
reliable and accurate method to measure the employment rate of adults
with disabilities as soon as possible, but no later than the date of
termination of the Task Force. Data derived from this methodology
shall be published on as frequent a basis as possible.
(g) All executive
agencies that are not members of the Task Force
shall: (1) coordinate and cooperate with the Task Force; and (2)
review their programs and policies to ensure that they are being
conducted and delivered in a manner that facilitates and promotes the
employment of adults with disabilities. Each agency shall file a
report with the Task Force on the results of its review on November
15,
1998.
Section 3. Cooperation. All efforts taken by executive
departments and agencies under sections 1 and 2 of this order shall,
as appropriate,
further partnerships and cooperation with public and private sector
employers, organizations that represent people with disabilities,
organized labor, veteran service organizations, and State and local
governments whenever such partnerships and cooperation are possible and
would promote the employment and gainful economic activities of
individuals with disabilities.
Section 4. Judicial Review. This order does not create
any right or
benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party
against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or any person.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 13, 1998.
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