OPM Hosts Disability Employment Training Workshop

The disability employment training workshop gave agencies the information and resources they need to develop strong plans for hiring more individuals with disabilities

Washington, DC – On Tuesday, October 26, 2010, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) hosted a Disability Employment Training. This event was open to all Federal employees and discussed the hiring of individuals with disabilities and how to meet the goals outlined in President Obama’s Executive Order (E.O.) 13548. Topics discussed at this training included an overview of the E.O., how to effectively use the Schedule A hiring authority, reasonable accommodation guidance, the disability register, and improving return to work outcomes.

“The U.S. Government should be a model employer of persons with disabilities,” said U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry. “I am committed to a diverse and talented workforce, and that includes improving the Federal employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.”

E.O. 13548 was issued on July 26, 2010 and mandated that OPM work with the Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Office of Management and Budget to design model recruitment and hiring strategies so that agencies may increase the number of individuals with disabilities they employ. Each agency must create its own plan for increasing opportunities for individuals with disabilities. The E.O. also encourages the increased use of the Schedule A excepted service hiring authority for persons with disabilities as well as internships, fellowships, and training and mentoring programs.

Individuals with disabilities currently make up just over five percent of the Federal workforce and individuals with targeted disabilities make up less than one percent of the Federal workforce. Through efforts like today’s training, the Federal Government is committed to increasing employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

“This is a win-win for everyone,” said OPM Deputy Director Christine Griffin. “Employment opportunities are increased for people with disabilities and the Federal government hires highly talented and skilled individuals.”

Top 10 Ways Hiring Disabled Workers Can Motivate All

Inspiring and motivating your team involves more than one-on-one giving and rewarding tangible forms of recognition. It is also about making a difference and giving back in ways that have meaning for your workforce and customers. You can reinvent your corporate culture by living the beliefs and values that are common to the community in which your company is present.

The harsh reality is one out of five Americans lives with a disability, and 70 percent of Americans with disabilities are unemployed. Consider the following 10 points, sparked from my conversation with Robert Stack, chief executive of Community Options, Inc., www.comop.org, on how we can be more inclusive of disabled Americans in the workplace.


1. Americans with disabilities represent an untapped resource. They want to be working no matter their disabilities—whether it’s blindness, hearing impairment, a muscular ailment, autism, etc. Consider a physically or mentally challenged person as your next hire because he or she may provide a unique talent and ability that makes a difference in your organization.

2. Reap hidden ROI. Tapping individuals with special needs for employment will become a visible marker and spill over into attracting clients that similarly care about and respect all individuals.

3. Hiring challenged individuals motivates and impacts all employees. Many people have family members or friends with some form of disability, or knows someone who has a loved one with a disability. Being a disabled-worker-friendly company will thus increase loyalty and morale across the entire company.

4. Raises brand awareness. While you should never do it for publicity reasons, hiring people with special needs, and offering training and development to cultivate their growth, is a positive and inclusive way to enhance your corporate brand similar to other corporate social responsibility initiatives.

5. Improve customer awareness. Having individuals with disabilities aboard your company increases awareness of the typical physical challenges they experience and might help you innovate new solutions for products and services.

6. Break stereotypes. Companies that make the step in hiring people with disabilities help team members understand workplace and personal differences, appreciate their blessings, and let go of incorrect and negative perceptions.

7. Find the perfect employee for the job. Many disabled workers are gifted with talents that will actually lend themselves to existing positions in your company. Asperger syndrome is an autism disorder that gives some people incredible ability to process details, which is an excellent trait for computer programmers, social media posting and monitoring, and researchers, etc.

8. Find the perfect job for the employee. Robert Stack shared a poignant story of an autistic person who was unable to read but was eager to work. He was the perfect candidate for shredding confidential papers when a company was challenged in finding someone who met the strict requirements for the job.

9. Elevate workplace principles. By allowing such individuals to be a part of your workplace, you are going to learn and demonstrate caring, kindness, greater courtesy, and respect, and make your company a friendlier and more service-oriented organization with which to do business.

10. Begin your outreach. Finding talented and skilled people with disabilities for your organization is a process. Robert Stack invites companies to get more information at its Web site, www.comop.org.

Incentive columnist Roy Saunderson is author of Giving the Recognition Way and president of the Recognition Management Institute, www.realrecognition.com, which consults companies on improving employee motivation that leads to increased productivity and profit. He can be reached at roysaunderson@realrecognition.com. Also, tune in every Tuesday to his radio show, Real Recognition Radio.

Obama Signs Rosa's Law

(WASHINGTON) -- President Obama on Tuesday signed legislation, called Rosa's Law, requiring the federal government to use the term “intellectual disability” instead of “mental retardation” and “individual with an intellectual disability” instead of “mentally retarded” in health, education, and labor policy.

Rosa’s Law is named for Rosa Marcellino, a young Maryland girl with an intellectual disability whose brother Nick convinced his state legislature to change the official phrase to "individual with an intellectual disability."

"We're not allowed to use the words at my house, it would be just like saying a curse word," said Nick in testimony to Maryland legislators. "We're also not allowed to use other words that are hurtful to minorities or people who are different."

The change will be not be immediate, but instead will be made gradually over the next several years.