[nfb-talk] Most federal agencies are losing more employees withsevere di...

Mike Freeman k7uij at panix.com
Sun Jan 20 11:42:01 CST 2008


Dream on!
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: HackneyCharles at aol.com
  To: nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
  Sent: Friday, January 18, 2008 1:10 PM
  Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Most federal agencies are losing more 
employees withsevere di...




  I commend the work of the EEOC, but it has admittedly been 
ineffective over
  the past twenty years regarding the employment of disabled  persons in 
the
  federal government.  While the LEAD initiative sounds good,  it has no 
teeth.
  The notion that SUGGESTING and  ENCOURAGING  HR  managers to hire 
disabled
  individuals is absurd. The EEOC directive that  went into effect in 
2003 is largely
  being ignored.  The managers that are  not in compliance should be
  terminated!  Every government worker, be it  state or federal, works 
for us, the
  citizens of the state and of the USA.   If they can't or won't do 
their job, then, oh
  well, "You're fired!"  That  is how it works in the private sector. 
Too many
  people in government have  gotten too big for their britches, and it's 
time
  we sent them to the wood  shed.
  Charles Hackney




  In a message dated 1/17/2008 7:34:16 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
  dandrews at visi.com writes:


  >  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.

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-------------- next part --------------
Dream on!
----- Original Message -----
From:
mailto:HackneyCharles at aol.com HackneyCharles at aol.com
To:
mailto:nfb-talk at nfbnet.org nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
Sent:
Friday, January 18, 2008 1:10 PM
Subject:
Re: [nfb-talk] Most federal agencies are losing more employees withsevere di...
I commend the work of the EEOC, but it has admittedly been  ineffective over
the past twenty years regarding the employment of disabled  persons in the
federal government.  While the LEAD initiative sounds good,  it has no teeth. 
The notion that SUGGESTING and  ENCOURAGING  HR  managers to hire disabled
individuals is absurd. The EEOC directive that  went into effect in 2003 is largely
being ignored.  The managers that are  not in compliance should be
terminated!  Every government worker, be it  state or federal, works for us, the
citizens of the state and of the USA.   If they can't or won't do their job, then, oh
well, "You're fired!"  That  is how it works in the private sector.  Too many
people in government have  gotten too big for their britches, and it's time
we sent them to the wood  shed. 
Charles Hackney
 
 
 
 
In a message dated 1/17/2008 7:34:16 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, 
mailto:dandrews at visi.com dandrews at visi.com
writes:
>  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.
_______________________________________________
nfb-talk  mailing  list
mailto:nfb-talk at nfbnet.org nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk
**************Start the year off right.  Easy ways to stay in shape.    
http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489 http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489
_______________________________________________
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