Disability Employment Policies and Practices in Private and Federal Sector Organizations

Abstract

Approximately one in six people has a disability, yet people with disabilities are often greatly under or unemployed compared to their non-disabled peers. To address this disparity, both the US Department of Education National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research and the Department of Labor’s Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities have separately funded initiatives to examine employer practices in response to the ADA. This report combines the research efforts and resulting analyses from two separate surveys of private and federal sector employers, on their policies and practices in implementing disability nondiscrimination legislation. Private sector employers have been covered by disability nondiscrimination legislation in the employment setting since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Federal sector employers have been covered by comparable legislation since the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The comparison today of their policies and practices enable us to not only compare between sectors, but to also analyze whether the extent of impact of such legislation on employer actions may change and be enhanced with the passage of time. In addition, we can also look across sectors to identify the policies and practices that best minimize or eliminate discrimination and maximize employment opportunities for people with disabilities.