Affirmative Action, Disability, & The Federal Government

Image from eeoc.gov

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking outlining the obligations of federal employers to take affirmative action with respect to individuals with disabilities.  The public can submit comments on the rule through April 25, 2016.  From the EEOC's press release outlining the proposed rule:

"The proposed rule reaffirms the federal government's commitment to being a model employer of people with disabilities.  It would require federal agencies to adopt the goal of achieving a 12% representation rate for individuals with disabilities, and a 2% representation rate for individuals with targeted/severe disabilities. Targeted disabilities are those that the government has, for several decades, placed a special emphasis on in hiring because they pose the greatest barriers to employment. The goals would apply at both higher and lower levels of federal employment. Hiring efforts would be further improved through focused recruitment efforts and simplified access to disability hiring programs and services. 

In addition to setting numerical goals and requiring enhanced efforts to hire individuals with disabilities, the proposed rule would require agencies to provide personal assistance services to employees who, because of a disability, need these services to help with activities such as eating and using the restroom while at work."

The proposed rule will not impact private or state entities, and is targeted only at federal employers.  We will follow the proposed rule to see if any changes are implemented in the final version.

- Joe Seiner