Tagged Federal
October Disability Employment Data
This morning the US Department of Labor released employment data for October, including data on the employment, unemployment, and labor-force participation of people with disabilities. For people with disabilities age 16 to 64, the data show a labor force participation rate of 30.9%, a slight decline from 31.3% in October 2013. Overall, 4.9 million people with disabilities participated in the labor force, compared to 4.8 million in October 2013.
According to the National Trends in Disability Employment report, the employment-to-population ratio increased from 26.9 percent in October 2013 to 27.1 percent in October 2014 (up 0.7 percent; 0.2 percentage points) for working-age people with disabilities. The employment-to-population ratio, a key indicator, reflects the percentage of people who are working relative to the total population (the number of people working divided by the number of people in the total population multiplied by 100).
White House Highlights Physical Fitness for People with Disabilities
AUCD recently attended the Summit and Research Forum on Improved Health and Fitness for Americans with Disabilities. The event was co-sponsored by the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and featured two members of CDC’s Friends of NCBDDD, Jim Rimmer, PhD, principal investigator of the NIDRR-funded Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Interactive Technologies and Exercise Physiology Benefiting People with Disabilities (RecTech), and Amy Rauworth, the Director of Policy and Public Affairs at the Lakeshore Foundation and is the Associate Director of the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD). Success stories from the I Can Do It, You Can Do It! (ICDI) Program were shared, along with innovative approaches based on emerging research findings. With obesity rates being 38% higher for children with a disability, this school-based ICDI effort is critical to engage communities in inclusive physical activity. Team science, a way of learning from multiple disciplines, testing out strategies and implementing what is learned, was highlighted during the research discussion as a way to build relationships and develop methods. One of the key messages of the summit was that exercise is medicine for everyone, including people w/ a disability. To continue this discussion and increase inclusion of people with disabilities in health and fitness efforts, the Commit to Inclusion initiative was launched at the summit. To learn more, visit: committoinclusion.org.
Department of Labor Releases Economic Picture of the Disability Community Project
The U.S. Department of Labor has released the Economic Picture of the Disability Community Project, a joint initiative between DOL’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, Employment and Training Administration, Chief Economist, Office of the Secretary, and the White House Council of Economic Advisors (CEA). The data produced are based on CEA analysis of the Census Bureau’s 2010-2012 American Community Survey, matched to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2012-2022 occupational projections. “Expect.Employ.Empower.with Data,” a blog authored by Heidi Shierholz, the Labor Department’s Chief Economist, and Kathy Martinez, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy, highlights some of the disability employment data and its significance for the U.S. workforce.
EEOC Twitter Chat on Disability Employment in the Federal Sector
Another twitter chat celebrating National Disability Employment Awareness Month! On October 28 from 2:00-3:00pm ET, join the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for a discussion of the role of the federal government as a model employer of people with disabilities. EEOC Chair Jenny Yang and Commissioner Chai Feldblum will answer questions during the hour-long chat.
“We hope this Twitter Chat provides useful information about what the EEOC is doing to increase the employment of people with disabilities at all levels of federal service,” said EEOC Chair Yang. “The EEOC is committed to ensuring our nation’s workplaces are inclusive of all people without regard to disability, race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, or genetic information and family medical history, beginning with the federal workplace.”
“As a long time devotee of Twitter, I am thrilled to have an interactive discussion about what the EEOC is doing, and what more it can do, to help people with disabilities find and retain good jobs in the federal government,” said Commissioner Feldblum.
Submit question using #EEOC4NDEAM. The EEOC invites queries regarding the hiring, promotion and retention of people with disabilities in the federal government and suggestions on how agencies can increase the number of people with disabilities in the federal workforce.
White House Honors Champions of Change in Disability Employment
On October 14, ten people from across the country were honored as Disability Employment Champions of Change at a White House ceremony for their efforts to expand employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The ten were chosen for their extraordinary work to make workplaces more accessible and to create employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
The honorees include a veteran with a disability who runs his own organic egg business; managers from Walgreens, Procter & Gamble, and Microsoft who have taken steps to boost disability employment within their ranks; and the founder of a company that helps ensure accessibility in digital systems used by businesses.
Many disability leaders from across the nation were in attendance of this event including AUCD’s Andy Imparato, Symme Trachtenberg from the Philadelphia LEND and Bill Kiernan from the UCEDD in Boston.
The White House regularly spotlights community leaders from across the nation as part of its “Champions of Change” series.
Disability Employment Twitter Chat October 24
In honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month the Labor Department (@USDOL) and the Social Security Administration are hosting a live Twitter Chat on their efforts to improve employment opportunities for millions of qualified workers with disabilities. The chat will start on Friday, October 24 at 12:00 PM ET using #DEchat.
Join Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy Kathy Martinez and her colleagues from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work program about Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and what these rules mean for workers with disabilities. These new regulations require federal contractors to take deliberate steps to recruit, hire, and retain people with disabilities. The new rules also allow individuals to voluntarily self-identify as a person with a disability.
You can submit your questions in advance by using that same hashtag or by sending an e-mail to OFCCP-Public@dol.gov. If you can’t make it to the chat, a full recap will be posted on the DOL blog next week.
Federal Hiring of People with Disabilities Hits New High
Last year, the Office of Personnel Management announced that in Fiscal Year (FY) 2012, people with disabilities were hired at a higher percentage than at any point in the past 32 years. Additionally, people with targeted disabilities were hired at a higher percentage than at any time in the past 17 years. This success has also led to more people with disabilities serving in federal service than at any time in the past 32 years.
“People with disabilities are a vital part of the federal workforce, as we are better able to serve the American people because of the talents and experience they bring to the table.” said OPM Director Katherine Archuleta. “Since President Obama issued his Executive Order in 2010, we’ve made substantial progress in hiring and retaining people with disabilities over the past three years. This work is enabling the federal government to continue to develop as a model employer for people with disabilities.” Read more…
News like this is why the Six by 15 Campaign is seeking six governors or mayors to make disability hiring commitments like the President’s Executive Order. If you haven’t yet, join our effort by endorsing the campaign today!
New PSA from the Campaign for Disability Employment
The new “Who I Am” PSA features nine real people with disabilities. Rather than be defined by disability, these individuals are the sum of their many life roles — which includes working in jobs they love.
September Disability Employment Data
This morning the US Department of Labor released employment and unemployment figures for September, including data for people with disabilities. The data show – for people with disabilities age 16 to 64 – a labor force participation rate of 33.1% for men and 29.1% for women. This compares to rates of 82.4% for men and 70.1% for women of the same age group without disabilities. In total, these figures show that a total of 4.9 million working-age people with disabilities were participating in the labor force in September 2014. This is a decline from 5.1 million in September 2013. Stay tuned to the blog throughout this month for more stories about disability employment and how we can work together to push that number to 6 million by the end of 2015.
This infographic from the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability shows the figures:
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Welcome to National Disability Employment Awareness Month! We are excited to have a whole month to share stories from around the country about employment and how we can all work to achieve our goal of 6 million people with disabilities participating in the labor force by 2015. This year’s theme is “Expect. Employ. Empower.” Look for stories on this blog and using the #6by15 on social media about how the Six by ’15 campaign and partners around the country are promoting disability employment, especially our new Do This in Your State series, which includes replicable ideas for how to move forward on the goals. Our posts this month will feature the official poster in English and Spanish.
Want to get involved? Check out the Department of Labor’s site about the month and Resource Toolbox
Six by '15 Campaign 