Ahead of National Disability Employment Awareness Month in October, the Federal Government has taken steps to support the employment prospects of people with disabilities.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced in August that it would award more than $69 million in grant funding to states to develop innovative strategies to help marginalized youth and young people with disabilities join the workforce.
“When it comes to identifying and exploring employment opportunities, youth and young adults with disabilities have historically faced systemic barriers related to their disability,” Under Secretary for Disability Employment Policy Taryn M. Williams said in a statement. “The funding opportunity announced today will help us identify policies and practices that enable these young people to successfully transition into employment and move us toward a more equitable and inclusive workforce.”
In September, the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) awarded Cornell University $2 million to operate an employer-focused Disability Policy Development and Technical Assistance Center.
The Cornell grant is part of the agency’s Employer Support and Resource Network program on Disability Inclusion, which aims to improve the recruitment, hiring, promotion and retention of people with disabilities, particularly those from traditionally marginalized groups.
Craig Leen, an attorney at K&L Gates in Washington, DC, and former director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, has long been an advocate for the rights and employment prospects of people with disabilities. He spoke with SHRM Online about his passion for helping those in the disability community, the progress they’ve made in the workforce, and why more needs to be done to create a more inclusive society for people with disabilities.
SHRM Online: Tell us why you’re so passionate about workplace rights for people with disabilities. Does this passion stem from any personal or professional experience?
Leanne: Everyone in this country should have the opportunity to pursue happiness and the American Dream, including the dignity of work. However, workforce participation rates for people with disabilities have been very low for many years, and unemployment rates remain very high. This is driven by multiple factors, including lack of accessibility, lack of accommodations, stereotypes and prejudices.
As a nation, we must advocate for accessibility and disability inclusion for employers and employees alike. If we don’t, we will unfairly close paths to the American Dream and miss out on a huge source of underutilized skilled labor.
When I was in Coral Gables [Fla.] As City Attorney, I worked hard to ensure our Beautiful City was accessible and inclusive to people with disabilities, helping to create numerous policies and programs focused on disability inclusion, such as the Principles of Inclusion and recreational programs for youth with disabilities. Another initiative I worked on was the development of police standard operating procedures (SOPs) for interacting with autistic subjects, combined with extensive training for officers. These SOPs help officers to proactively engage with autistic witnesses and subjects and ensure that in certain cases, lack of eye contact or difficulty responding is not misinterpreted as resistance to an officer’s commands when in fact it is not.
My daughter, Alex, has autism and an intellectual disability, which inspired me to become an advocate. Seeing her effectively excluded from many places, activities and opportunities, I wanted our hometown of The Gables to be a place that was welcoming to all. I am now doing the same here in Washington.
That’s why I got so involved with Section 503 as Director of OFCCP. [of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973] Developing comprehensive best practices that employers can adopt to increase inclusion of people with disabilities. In Coral Gables, I saw firsthand what a difference it can make to the lives of people with disabilities and how overlooked it is in society’s failure to fully include and accommodate. I am very proud of the focus on disability inclusion during my time at OFCCP, including the development of the Section 503 Intensive Review Program and numerous related best practices.
I now focus a lot of my work on helping employers develop accessibility and disability inclusion programs, which are often part of broader Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEI&A) programs. I also continue to serve in federal and local government positions, including as Vice Chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights’ DC Advisory Committee (currently focused on studying equal access to special education and transportation in DC) and as a member of the DC Family Advocacy Council.
SHRM Online: What is your reaction to the federal government’s recent funding of programs to help people with disabilities find employment?
Leanne: That’s amazing to see. [the investments] It will have a significant impact. Employment for people with disabilities is a bipartisan issue, and administrations of both parties should continue to focus on expanding employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
Unfortunately, disability is sometimes excluded from efforts to increase diversity and inclusion in the workplace. But this should not be the case. I want to commend the Office of Disability Employment Policy for its support of these programs, and more generally, programs such as the Job Coordination Network and the Employer Support and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion.
In my view, ODEP has had a greater impact on promoting employment for people with disabilities than any other organization.
SHRM Online: Recent reports show that employment of people with disabilities is at a post-pandemic high. What do you think is driving this increase in employment of people with disabilities, and is it a sign that companies are more willing to hire people with disabilities?
Lean: In my view, the biggest driver has been the increased availability of remote work. A tight labor market has also been a driving force. Additionally, companies are becoming more accessible through increased compliance with accommodation and non-discrimination requirements and improved website accessibility.
Hopefully, more organizations will start by incorporating disability into their DEI&A programs and prioritizing accessibility and accommodation in hiring (although according to Harvard Business Review, only about 4% of organizations actually do this).
Employers should consider specific hiring programs for people with disabilities, such as Autism in the Workplace and Neurodiversity in the Workplace programs. This approach has led to increased hiring of people with disabilities in the federal government through Schedule A and could work in the private sector as well.
The Department of Labor supports these programs, and they are a great way to increase the representation of employees with disabilities. Similarly, employers should establish relationships with local vocational rehabilitation agencies, as they are a great potential source of skilled labor.
SHRM Online: A recent SHRM survey found that nearly half (47%) of employees with invisible disabilities, like autism or mental illness, don’t disclose their disability in the workplace. How can companies foster a more inclusive and welcoming environment for these employees?
Leen: People with disabilities face many unfair barriers to employment, including low labor force participation rates, high unemployment rates, and large wage gaps. There is also concern that disclosing their disability could result in fewer employment opportunities due to stereotypes and prejudices surrounding disabilities, as well as condescending and discriminatory attitudes.
Employees with disabilities will generally do what they believe is in their best interest, and that’s how it should be. Employers should create a work environment where disclosing a non-visible disability does not put employees at risk and can open up new opportunities, such as requesting helpful accommodations or joining a disability-inclusive Employee Resource Group (ERG).
SHRM Online: Are there any less-discussed ways that companies can support employees with disabilities?
Leanne: Yes. Having a disability advocate on board when writing new workplace policies leads to more inclusive policies, and having the CEO state to all employees that disabilities are welcome and encouraged to request accommodations makes a big difference.
Additionally, having a disability inclusion ERG that has strong support from leadership increases rates of disability self-identification, which in turn increases workplace satisfaction and productivity.One of the most important ways to support people with disabilities is to create a Chief Accessibility Officer (CAO) position that reports to the CEO and Board of Directors. [of directors].
The CAO will be dedicated to accessibility and disability inclusion in the workplace – a best practice that the U.S. government itself should adopt. I have been advocating for years for a U.S. CAO to be located in the White House, coordinating accessibility policy across the U.S. government and reporting directly to the President. This would be a groundbreaking move and set a great example for organizations across the country.