[Jobs] Most federal agencies are losing more employees with severe disabilities than they are hiri

[David Andrews]

> From the Washington Post:
>
>
>Links to this article
>
>
>By
>
>
>Stephen Barr
>
>
>Thursday, January 17, 2008; Page D04
>
>
>Most federal agencies are losing more employees with severe
>disabilities
>than they are hiring, and the
>
>
>Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
>
>
>wants to get the government back on path as a model employer.
>
>
>An EEOC management directive, which went into effect in October
>2003,
>requires federal agencies with more than 1,000 employees to
>recruit
>disabled individuals
>
>
>and set hiring goals, but 43 percent of federal agencies have not
>established such goals, the EEOC said in a report released Tuesday.
>
>
>
>"This may account for why little progress is being realized," the
>report
>said.
>
>
>In fiscal 2006, the government had about 2.6 million permanent and
>temporary workers, and 24,442 were deaf, blind, mentally retarded
>or had
>other serious
>
>
>disabilities.
>
>
>That year, the severely disabled represented 0.94 percent of the
>government's workforce, the lowest rate in 20 years, according to
>the
>report.
>
>
>Even the overall growth in government employment did not help the
>recruitment and retention of disabled employees. The government's
>workforce grew by 135,732
>
>
>between fiscal 1997 and 2006, a 5.48 percent increase, while the
>number
>of employees with severe disabilities decreased by 4,229 during, a
>loss
>of 14.75
>
>
>percent.
>
>
>The report found essentially the same pattern when temporary
>employees
>were excluded from the data. In fiscal 2006, the severely disabled
>represented 0.97
>
>
>percent of the full-time, permanent government workforce, also a
>20-year
>low.
>
>
>The report suggests that bias or lack of training for managers is
>one
>explanation for the reduction of disabled employees. "Within the
>federal
>government,
>
>
>unfounded fears, myths and stereotypes persist regarding the
>employment
>of people with disabilities," the report said. "These beliefs may
>unlawfully influence
>
>
>some employment decisions."
>
>
>The 1973 Rehabilitation Act banned discrimination against disabled
>people in federal hiring and required agencies to develop plans to
>hire
>and promote disabled
>
>
>workers. It also required agencies to provide "reasonable
>accommodations," such as modified work schedules, special computers
>and
>other equipment.
>
>
>But at the largest departments the number of permanent government
>employees with severe disabilities has dropped over the past two
>decades. Only the Treasury
>
>
>and Labor departments have increased the percentage of severely
>disabled
>in their workforces, the report said.
>
>
>There appears to be no single reason for the decline, but the EEOC
>report suggests several possible reasons in addition to issues of
>bias.
>They include
>
>
>the increase in contractors to fill jobs at lower pay grades, the
>reluctance of managers to use special hiring programs to recruit
>the
>disabled, and "the
>
>
>misperception of managers" that the severely disabled are not
>likely to
>be the best qualified applicants for professional jobs in their
>agencies.
>
>
>Last year, at the urging of Commissioner Christine M. Griffin, the
>EEOC
>launched the Leadership for the Employment of Americans With
>Disabilities Initiative.
>
>
>Through LEAD, the EEOC has encouraged agency leaders, personnel
>and
>hiring officials and others to recruit more individuals with
>serious
>disabilities.
>
>
>The Navy and the
>
>
>Federal Aviation Administration
>
>
>have stepped up efforts to recruit disabled employees under LEAD,
>an
>EEOC official said, but the report says the overall decline will
>not be
>reversed until
>
>
>all agencies pay more attention to the issue.
>
>
>"Very few agencies are actually setting hiring goals or making
>concrete
>plans to meet those goals. This must change," Griffin said in a
>statement.
>
>
>The EEOC report recommends that agencies establish numerical
>hiring
>goals for the disabled, provide mandatory training on disabilities
>for management officials
>
>and develop procedures to verify that hiring goals are met.