EARN Newsletter – Aug 12, 2011

INFORMATION YOU CAN USE:

NEW WORKPLACE MENTORING PRIMER HELPS EMPLOYERS FOSTER INCLUSION

The Federal Workplace Mentoring Primer, now available online at the Employer Assistance Resource Network (EARN) website, provides strategies and resources for developing, implementing, and improving formal workplace mentoring programs, including tips for fostering diversity and inclusion.  The Primer was developed as part of a federally funded grant from the Office of Disability Employment Policy and it contains information on how to develop a mentoring culture, structured activities for protégés and mentors, and other relevant tools and resources.

EARN IS OFFERING A FREE WEBINAR ON AUGUST 30TH

Attracting and retaining mature, experienced employees is rapidly approaching a tipping point for employers. While the aging workforce presents some challenges, it also offers major opportunities to drive innovations in productivity tools and beyond.
EARN’s “Preparing for an Aging Workforce” webinar will highlight ways that employers can capitalize on the enormous potential of mature workers.

OFCCP ISSUES NEW DIRECTIVE TO RESUME FUNCTIONAL AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAMS

More than one year after the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs suspended approval of contractor requests to develop functional affirmative action programs (FAAPs) or to renew existing  ones, OFCCP has issued a new directive that explains how the agency now will process requests to establish AAPs based on business function or line of business instead of by geographic establishment.
To read more, click here.

    DID YOU KNOW?…

EEOC FINDS FAULT WITH COMPANY’S NO-FAULT ATTENDANCE PLAN

On July 6, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that telecommunications giant Verizon Communications will pay $20 million and significant equitable relief to resolve a nationwide class disability discrimination lawsuit. The suit said the company unlawfully denied reasonable accommodations required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to hundreds of Verizon employees and disciplined or fired them pursuant to the company’s “no fault” attendance plans.
“Flexibility on leave can enable a worker with a disability to remain employed and productive — a win for the worker, the employer and the economy,” said EEOC Chair Jacqueline A. Berrien.
To read more, click here.

FINANCIAL SERVICES ROUNDTABLE AND ODEP HOST SUMMIT

On July 19, the Financial Services Roundtable and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability  Employment Policy (ODEP) hosted a call to action summit, “Financial Services Workers with Disabilities: Career Trends and Current Practices.”
The Financial Services Roundtable represents 100 of the largest integrated financial services companies providing banking, insurance, and investment products and services to the American consumer.  The summit brought together 50 attendees representing human resource and diversity professionals within the financial services sector.
To read more, click here.

MILICRUIT LAUNCHES PERPETUAL ONLINE CAREER FAIR CALENDAR

Due to a high demand by employers and veterans, employers can now schedule their own online career fair anytime on www.VeteransCareerFair.com.
The calendar, launched by Milicruit connects service members with military-friendly employers online, eliminating the need to travel to a physical location. Milicruit allows active-duty personnel, veterans and military spouses an opportunity to log-in at their convenience regardless of where they are located or deployed.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY TESTIFIES BEFORE SENATE COMMITTEE ON IMPROVING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Kathleen Martinez, assistant secretary of labor for the Office of Disability Employment Policy, testified last month before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions to discuss the U.S. Department of Labor’s public and private partnership initiatives designed to connect people with disabilities and employment opportunities.
Martinez told the committee that the department is taking concrete steps to increase employment outcomes in the private and public sectors. An example is the Add Us In Initiative, which aims to increase the ability of small and minority businesses to include people with disabilities in their workforces.
Martinez’s testimony is available at http://www.dol.gov/_sec/media/congress/20110714_Martinez.htm.

THE DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT SITUATION:

JULY 2011*

Employment rate of persons ages 16-64 with disabilities: 27.0%
Employment rate of persons ages 16-64 without disabilities: 70.1%
Employment Gap: 43.1%
Freguently asked questions.

*In July 2011, the employment rate of people 16-64 years of age was 27.0% for persons with disabilities compared with 70.1% for persons without a disability. The gap between the employment rate of persons of 16-64 years of age with and without disabilities was 43.1%, not seasonally adjusted.

EEOC CAUTIONS AGAINST MAINTAINING PERSONAL, OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH INFORMATION IN ONE FILE

Because the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act contain strict confidentiality provisions, employers should not maintain employees’ personal health information and occupational health information in a single electronic medical record (EMR), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission advised in a recent opinion letter.
ADA regulations prohibit employers from asking disability-related questions and requiring medical examinations of individuals who have not yet been given a job offer. Such inquiries and examinations are permissible after an offer is extended as long as they are required of all entering employees in the same job category, the letter said.
To read more about this meeting, click here.

P&G HIRING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AT MAINE PLANT

Proctor & Gamble says its diversification efforts include hiring people with disabilities at its manufacturing plant in Auburn, Maine.  The company has partnered with the Maine Bureau of Rehabilitation Services as it opens a customized packaging facility at the plant.
To read more, click here.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION TO IMPROVE UNDEREMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

The upcoming release of the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs rules on affirmative action requirements for federal contractors may be a significant turning point in the underemployment of people with disabilities. An increase in affirmative action rules could help people with disabilities find meaningful employment. Federal contractors currently employ roughly 22% of the work force; the current rate for employment among people with disabilities is about 17.7%.

NEWLY DESIGNED TYPEFACE COULD HELP READERS WITH DYSLEXIA

A Dutch graphic designer believes that a new font he has developed can help people with dyslexia read more easily.
Graphic designer Christian Boer, who has dyslexia himself, developed the typeface, called Dyslexie. And while it isn’t the first font created specifically to help dyslectic people, , it may be the first backed up by some scientific evidence that suggests it works.  A recent study by researchers at the University of Twente in the Netherlands found the font helped to decrease the number of errors dyslectics made when reading.
Click here to read more.