[tabi] Fw: [leadership] U.S. Labor Department Seeks Public Input to StrengthenDisability Regulations (regarding Section 503/contractors)
- From: "Easy Talk" <easytalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2010 06:36:24 -0400
----- Original Message -----
From: Pratik Patel
To: leadership@xxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2010 6:01 PM
Subject: [leadership] U.S. Labor Department Seeks Public Input to
StrengthenDisability Regulations (regarding Section 503/contractors)
US Labor Department seeks public input to strengthen disability regulations
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs is seeking input from the public on ways to strengthen its
regulations requiring federal contractors to take affirmative action to employ
and advance in employment qualified individuals with disabilities. In an
Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to be published in the Federal Register
July 23, the agency invites the public to help revise the regulations
implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
"Equal access to employment is a fundamental right of every American," said
Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "It's time to update this regulation to
ensure that everyone has access to good jobs, including individuals with
disabilities."
The Section 503 regulations have required equal employment opportunity and
affirmative action since the 1970s, yet the rate of disabled people who are
unemployed or not in the labor force remain significantly higher than those
without disabilities. According to recent data from the U.S. Department of
Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21.7 percent of people with disabilities
were in the labor force in June 2010, compared with 70.5 percent of people with
no disability. In addition, the unemployment rate for those with disabilities
was 14.4 percent, compared with 9.4 percent unemployment for those without a
disability.
"Work is central to every person's financial independence, sense of self and
integrity," said OFCCP Director Patricia A. Shiu. "OFCCP is re-examining its
affirmative action regulations so that people with disabilities can be assured
that federal contractors are proactively seeking them out for employment."
Topics on which comment is requested include:
a.. What employment practices have been effective in recruiting, hiring,
advancing and retaining qualified individuals with disabilities.
b.. What data are available that could be used to establish hiring goals and
conduct utilization analyses of individuals with disabilities.
c.. How linkage agreements between federal contractors and organizations that
focus on the employment of qualified individuals with disabilities can be
strengthened to increase effectiveness.
Comments must be received by OFCCP within 60 days of the ANPRM's publication.
To read the ANPRM or submit a comment, go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
www.regulations.gov. The deadline for receiving comments is Sept. 21, 2010.
OFCCP enforces Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, 38
U.S.C. 4212. These laws prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from
discriminating on the bases of race, color, religion, sex, national origin,
disability and veteran status. They also require affirmative action in
employment by federal contractors and subcontractors.
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