DOE’s Statement on Disability Hiring
The U. S. Department of Energy is committed to fostering a culture of diversity. We recognize that individuals with disabilities are an untapped talent pool and possess skills and competencies that the Department needs to remain competitive.
The Department of Energy (DOE) is fully committed to improving our efforts to employ Federal workers with disabilities and targeted disabilities through increased recruiting, hiring, and retention. Although millions of people with disabilities work, two-thirds of this labor pool is still untapped. Recruiting and retaining workers with disabilities is one strategy to counter the effects of the aging and shrinking workforce. This untapped labor pool can offer a source of skilled employees and can contribute to increasing retention and reducing turnover.
Increasing Federal Employment of People with Disabilities Initiative
President Obama issued Executive Order 13548, Increasing Federal Employment of Individuals with Disabilities, on July 26, 2010. The Order emphasizes the Government’s role as a catalyst in becoming a model employer for individuals with disabilities to include recruitment, hiring, and retention. The Order also adopts the goal set forth in Executive Order 13163 signed on July 26, 2000 by President Clinton of hiring 100,000 people with disabilities into the Federal Government over 5 years, including individuals with targeted disabilities.
Key components of the Executive Order 13548 include: 1) senior level leadership commitment; 2) establishing performance targets and numerical goals for employment of individuals with disabilities and sub-goals for employment of individuals with targeted disabilities consistent with law; 3) increase the use of Schedule A (insert link) excepted service hiring authority; 4) human resources personnel and hiring managers are required to receive mandatory training on hiring people with disabilities; 5) improve, expand, and increase successful return-to-work outcomes for employees who sustain work-related and illnesses as defined under the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA); 6) retaining Federal workers with disabilities through training and the use of centralized accommodation funds to provide reasonable accommodation.
