EARN Newsletter for December 16, 2011

The Employer Assistance and Resource Network (EARN) monthly newsletter has a new feature called Spotlight. In this section, EARN will recognize employers’ successful practices for outreach, recruitment, hiring, and accommodating workers with disabilities. EARN invites employers who would like to highlight their effective practices in employing people with disabilities to submit articles for future issues of the EARN newsletter. This month, EARN spotlights Microsoft Corporation for their efforts to educate recruiters about focusing on the qualifications of persons with disabilities.

Spotlight

MICROSOFT: PREPARING RECRUITERS TO INTERVIEW JOB CANDIDATES WITH DISABILITIES

The Microsoft Corporation continues its dedication to diversity by promoting recruitment models and toolkits to advance the inclusion of individuals with disabilities. Microsoft has a long history of recruiting, hiring and retaining employees with disabilities, and believes hiring a diverse population of employees, including those with disabilities, enhances its products as well as the workplace. One of the ways Microsoft prepares to recruit people with disabilities is by providing New Recruiter Orientation training.

During this two-day training for new full-time Microsoft staffing members, modules are presented that teach general disability etiquette (do’s and don’ts) in a relaxed open atmosphere. Also, to make sure that the information covered during the training is readily accessible, an online “Disability Toolkit” is available for recruiters and other staffing members to reference when they meet and/or interview candidates with disabilities. The primary goal of the in-class training and the online tool is to make certain the interview process highlights the candidate’s strengths and qualifications for the position they are applying for.

The Disability Toolkit contains general information and tips about a variety of sensory and mobility disabilities to assist staffing professionals. The toolkit also contains Microsoft points-of-contact who can provide additional assistance for specialized cases, and sample email templates that staffing coordinators can use to contact hiring managers, minimizing distractions and ensuring a great experience for the candidate.

TELEWORK AS ADA ACCOMMODATION ON THE RISE

The use of telework as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has increased in recent years according to experts. The boom has been spurred partly by technological advances that make it easier for employees to work from home, and by a mandate of the Obama administration requiring that federal agencies implement telework plans by June of 2011. Telework also saves companies money; IBM has saved an estimated $50 million in real estate costs and Sun Microsystems has saved $68 million. Learn more.

OFCCP, EEOC PUBLISH REVISED MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

For the first time in twelve years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) have issued an updated memorandum of understanding (MOU) that outlines how the agencies will coordinate their enforcement efforts and share information regarding discrimination claims under Title VII and Executive Order 11246. Read more.

THINK BEYOND THE LABEL CREATES JOBS PORTAL FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Think Beyond the Label, a public-private partnership that works to increase employment for people with disabilities, launched an online jobs portal that connects job seekers with disabilities to employers that are actively seeking to hire them. The new job search engine gives candidates with disabilities free access to nearly one million job listings from more than 90,000 vetted hiring employers in the private and public sectors. To learn more, click here.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY MARTINEZ BRIEFS HILL ON TOOLKIT

Office of Disability Employment Policy Assistant Secretary Kathleen Martinez hosted a briefing for congressional staff and other participants to discuss ODEP’s Integrated Employment Toolkit – a collection of resources, reports, papers, policies, fact sheets, case studies, and discussion guides form a variety of sources to accommodate the full range of users and increase capacity and understanding about the value and potential of integrated employment. View the Toolkit.

EARN SIGNS ALLIANCE AGREEMENT WITH THE DISABILITY MANAGEMENT EMPLOYER COALITION (DMEC)

To increase its capacity to address employer inquiries regarding absence management and return-to-work issues, EARN entered into a collaborative relationship with DMEC to provide information, guidance, and resources to facilitate the retention of workers with disabilities. The US Department of Labor estimates that absences, in general, cost employers nationwide approximately $100 billion per year. For more information on these issues and about DMEC, visit www.askEARN.org and www.DMEC.org.

Disability Employment Statistics

28.3%