EARN in Action

Honoring America’s Veterans

Veterans Day pays tribute to the contributions and sacrifices of American’s military veterans, including those with disabilities. One impactful way to support veterans is to recruit and hire them. Disabled veterans offer a wealth of experiences and abilities and can benefit your organization in a variety of ways. EARN’s Disabled Veterans webpage offers information to help employers attract and retain these dedicated and skilled workers, including an overview of laws and regulations related to employing veterans with disabilities.

Retaining Employees through Peformance Coaching and Management

All employees can benefit from ongoing discussions about their performance and opportunities to grow at work. However, some managers may avoid having these conversations with employees with disabilities because they feel uncomfortable or fear they may be violating disability-related laws or regulations. Last month, EARN held a webinar to share effective strategies employers can use to ensure they are engaging employees with disabilities in meaningful dialogues about their workplace performance. A recording of “Retaining Valued Employees with Disabilities: The Importance of Performance Coaching and Management,” which features guest speakers from Citi and JPMorgan Chase, is now available. The accompanying learning guide includes additional tips, information and resources.

Celebrating National Apprenticeship Week

National Apprenticeship Week (NAW), which takes place November 14-20 this year, is a nationwide celebration showcasing how Registered Apprenticeships help grow America’s economy, advance racial and gender equity and support underserved communities, including people with disabilities. EARN’s Apprenticeships webpage offers a variety of resources, such as those from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Partnership on Inclusive Apprenticeship (PIA), to help ensure apprenticeship programs are inclusive of people with disabilities.

Building a Disability-Inclusive Organization Webcast

A recorded version of the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) webcast "Building a Disability-Inclusive Organization” is now available. During the webcast, Ellice Switzer, a Workplace Disability Inclusion Associate with EARN, discusses core components of the Inclusion@Work Framework and provides practical strategies for creating disability-inclusive workplace cultures to help organizations of all sizes meet diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility goals. Developed with input from a range of employers with exemplary track records in disability employment, the Framework includes information, tools and resources such as discussion guides and online trainings.

Disability Employment in the News

Department of Labor NDEAM Event Recording

In celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) in October, the U.S. Department of Labor hosted an “Employer Chat on Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being.” The event featured Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy Taryn Williams and other Departmental leaders, as well as corporate representatives, disability advocates and other experts on creating and supporting mental health-friendly workplaces. The panel discussion included Frank Giampietro, Chief Well-Being Officer at EY Americas; Jon Murphy, Senior EAP Counselor for U.S. Congress, representing the Employee Assistance Professionals Association; Katherine Pérez, Inaugural Director of the Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy, and Innovation; and Sohini Stone, Chief Medical Officer for Global Employee Health at Google. A recording of the event is now available online.

National Entrepreneurship Month

November is National Entrepreneurship Month, a time to celebrate the many contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and the spirit of innovation that drives them. Entrepreneurs with disabilities are a vital part of the Nation’s economy – according to the American Community Survey, approximately 700,000 people with disabilities in the U.S. are self-employed. “During National Entrepreneurship Month, we celebrate the doers, dreamers and job creators whose vision and grit fuel our economy and capture the essence of America,” said President Biden.

Mental Health within Native Communities Virtual Series

In honor of National Native American Heritage Month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education and the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Native Americans and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities, kicked off its virtual series on employment of American Indians and Alaskan Natives on November 1. The first of a four-part series, the webinar focused on employment of American Indians and Alaskan Natives with mental health conditions.

Report on Inclusive Employment

The National Organization on Disability (NOD) released a White Paper highlighting the results of their 2021 Employment Tracker, an annual survey that benchmarks companies’ disability inclusion efforts. The new report explores how inclusive business practices support positive human resource outcomes and includes information on ways to increase self-identification rates of employees with disabilities, why measuring disability inclusion efforts matters and other lessons learned from last year’s Employment Tracker.

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Employer Spotlight

Answering the Call for Inclusion at AT&T

Supporting employment of people with disabilities not only aligns with AT&T’s core value to “Stand for Equality,” but also provides bottom line benefits such as expanding the company’s ability to develop innovative solutions to business challenges. Learn how AT&T developed a culture of understanding, awareness, advancement and advocacy for its more than 7,000 employees with disabilities through a variety of programs and initiatives, including the Ability Employee Group and annual disability inclusion training.