July 2020
In this Issue: ADA30 — Increasing Access & Opportunity
EARN IN ACTION
The ADA Turns 30!
This month—July 26, to be exact—marks the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the landmark civil rights legislation that works to increase access and opportunity for people with disabilities across community life, including employment. EARN is pleased to advance the spirit of the ADA, this month and every month, by helping employers foster workplaces inclusive of the skills and talents of people with disabilities. To learn more about employer responsibilities under the ADA, visit EARN’s ADA webpage. For more information about the ADA30 commemoration and how employers can take part, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s ADA30 webpage.
PREVENTS Report
Last month, an interagency task force established by President Trump to develop a national plan for preventing veteran suicide released its report, and EARN’s Mental Health Toolkit was noted as a resource for employers. The President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS) outlines 10 broad recommendations, and the toolkit was included as a resource to assist under the fifth recommendation, which is to “encourage employers and academic institutions to provide and integrate comprehensive mental health and wellness practices and policies into their culture and systems.” Learn more about the PREVENTS initiative, read the task force’s full report, or visit EARN’s Mental Health Toolkit.
FEED Meeting
On June 30, EARN, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and U.S. Office of Personnel Management, hosted the third Federal Exchange on Employment and Disability (FEED) meeting of 2020. In honor of the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the meeting featured a panel of senior executives from federal agencies on the topic of “Increasing Pathways to Leadership for Federal Employees with Disabilities.” FEED is an interagency working group focused on sharing best practices to make the Federal Government a model employer of people with disabilities. Learn more about FEED.
Innovative Approaches to Increasing Self-ID
This spring, EARN was pleased to join forces with the National Industry Liaison Group to record a webinar about strategies for increasing self-identification of disability for Disability:IN DC Metro. This webinar introduces important definitions, including the difference between self-identification and self-disclosure. It also describes strategies to counter what research has shown to be the main barriers to self-identification, as outlined in EARN’s Self-ID Toolkit, Engaging Employees to Measure Success: Innovative Approaches to Encouraging Self-Identification of Disability. This webinar is now available to any company interested in learning more about the topic. Access the presentation or EARN’s Self-ID Toolkit.
DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT IN THE NEWS
2020 NDEAM Theme: Increasing Access and Opportunity
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that “Increasing Access and Opportunity” will be the theme for this year’s annual National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) in October. This year’s NDEAM observance, the nation’s 75th, will be one of the culminating events of DOL’s year-long commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which centers on the same theme. Read the press release, learn more about NDEAM, or order or download the official poster honoring both NDEAM and the ADA anniversary.
Survey of Employer Policies on the Employment of People with Disabilities
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and Chief Evaluation Office recently published the results of their 2018 “Survey of Employer Policies on the Employment of People with Disabilities,” which examined employers’ efforts to employ, and attitudes toward, people with disabilities and compared them to a similar survey sponsored by ODEP in 2008. Among the key findings was that, while the percentage of companies reporting employing people with disabilities increased over the past decade, this population still makes up a small percentage of their workforces. Read the report.
The Future of Work: Honoring the ADA
The 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is July 26. But what will the next 30 years of the ADA look like for people with disabilities in the workplace? In honor of the anniversary, the Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT) is exploring what emerging workplace trends or technologies will have the biggest impact on people with disabilities as we look to the next 30 years of work. Join in the conversation on Twitter throughout July by following and using the hashtag #ADAnext30. Learn more about #ADAnext30.
“Small Business at Work” Toolkit
The Northeast Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Center recently launched a new resource to help small businesses—in any region of the country—successfully recruit and retain employees with disabilities. Developed based on research on the needs of small businesses, the “Small Business at Work” toolkit offers easy-to-understand, practical advice across a range of topics, as well as expert guidance on following Title I of the ADA. The Northeast ADA Center is part of the ADA National Network, funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. Access the toolkit.
AskEARN
Q: In honor of the Americans with Disabilities Act’s (ADA) anniversary, we would like to conduct a training for our supervisors about the ADA’s employment provisions. Do you have information to help us develop this presentation?
A: That’s a great idea, and yes! This year’s milestone anniversary presents an opportune time to ensure hiring managers, supervisors, and others across your organization understand how the ADA applies to both job seekers and employees with disabilities. To get started, you could use (or take content from) EARN’s recorded training on the ADA, which provides an overview of the law and its employment provisions, including key definitions.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
July 24, 2020, 1:00 p.m. ET
Webinar: Celebrating ADA30: A Discussion on Youth Employment from the ADA Generation
This EARN webinar will feature a panel discussion with young adults with disabilities sharing their experiences in the workplace. In addition, a representative from the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire will explore key findings from the new Kessler Foundation survey report, Experiences of the “Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Generation” in the Workplace. Register for the webinar.
EMPLOYER SPOTLIGHT
Ultranauts
Founded by two Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduates, Ultranauts (formerly Ultra Testing) is a software engineering firm with two main goals: to prove that neurodiversity is a competitive advantage in the workplace and provide superior service to its clients. As of 2019, Ultranauts has met both of those goals, with 75 percent of its employees being on the autism spectrum and a sustained average growth rate of 50 percent per year.
The Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN) is a resource for employers seeking to recruit, hire, retain, and advance qualified employees with disabilities. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy under a cooperative agreement with the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Disability and Employment. For more information, visit AskEARN.org.
Preparation of this item was fully funded by the United States Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy in the amount of $8,000,000 (four-year total grant amount) under Cooperative Agreement No. OD-33975-19-75-4-36. This document does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.