Number of disabled in federal work force continues to decline

Even as the federal work force is growing, the number of federal employees who are deaf, blind, mentally retarded or have other serious disabilities is shrinking. Over the 10 fiscal years through 2006, the total federal work force grew by almost 6 percent. The number of federal employees with serious disabilities decreased by almost 15 percent over that same time frame.

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal government employed 23,490 disabled people in fiscal 2006, which is roughly 0.97 percent of the federal work force. The high point for federal employment of the disabled was in 1994, when 1.24 percent of the federal work force was disabled. Statistics for 2007 are not yet available.

In its new report, “Improving the Participation Rate of People with Targeted Disabilities in the Federal Work Force,” the EEOC outlined the following barriers to hiring the disabled:

• There is inadequate coordination between federal agencies and programs that were created specifically to meet the employment needs of individuals with disabilities.
  
• Within the federal government, unfounded fears, myths and stereotypes persist regarding the employment of people with disabilities. 
  
• Few agencies have developed strategic plans to improve the recruitment, hiring and retention of people who are disabled.
  
• The federal job application process is daunting to most, but especially to individuals with disabilities.
  
• Agency officials lack knowledge about how to appropriately respond to reasonable accommodation requests and how to implement retention strategies for people with disabilities.
  
• There is insufficient accountability among all levels of the federal government in setting and attaining goals to hire people with disabilities.

The EEOC report called on the federal government to be the nation’s model employer, providing equal opportunity to all Americans, including those with disabilities. The report outlined some best practices and innovative measures that agencies use to recruit and hire individuals with disabilities.

“We undertook this review to examine impediments in the federal sector to the hiring and advancement of people with targeted disabilities, as well as to showcase agency best practices that are making a real difference,” said Carlton Hadden, director of the EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations, which prepared the report. “Our goal is to ensure that the federal government is the employer of first choice for individuals with disabilities.”

The EEOC launched the “LEAD Initiative” (“Leadership for the Employment of Americans with Disabilities”) in June 2006. Through LEAD, the EEOC is reaching out to agency leaders, HR personnel and hiring officials to encourage them to hire and advance more individuals with targeted disabilities.

To view the full EEOC report, click here.

What about state and local governments? Data on disabled work forces in state and local governments is not available from the EEOC, the U.S. Census Bureau or the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Likewise, the public affairs office at the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) told GovPro.com that it does not have data on the number of disabled people who are employed in government. The AFSCME also does not track what percentage of its membership has disabilities.