October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Approximately 54 million Americans are currently living with a disability. Yet Americans with disabilities have an employment rate much lower than that of Americans without disabilities, and they are underrepresented in the federal workforce. Individuals with disabilities currently represent just over 5 percent of the nearly 2.5 million people in the federal workforce. The Defense Department employs about 45,000 workers with disabilities.

Held each October since 1988, National Disability Employment Awareness Month is a national campaign that raises awareness about disability employment issues and celebrates the many and varied contributions of America's workers with disabilities. NDEAM also reaffirms the commitment to ensure equal employment opportunities to all citizens. The official theme for NDEAM 2011 is “Profit by Investing in Workers with Disabilities” which promotes the valuable contributions people with disabilities make to our workplaces and economy.

The effort to inform Americans about disability and employment issues began in 1945, when Congress enacted a law declaring the first week in October each year “National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week.” In 1962, the word “physically” was removed to recognize the employment needs and contributions of individuals with all types of disabilities. In 1988, Congress expanded the week to a month and changed the name to “National Disability Employment Awareness Month.”

The federal government has an important interest in reducing discrimination against Americans living with a disability, in eliminating the stigma associated with disability, and in encouraging Americans with disabilities to seek employment in the federal workforce. In fact, President Obama in July 2010 signed an executive order to increase federal employment of individuals with disabilities. The executive order includes mandates on the design of recruitment and hiring strategies, and to increase the retention rate of individuals with disabilities. As the nation's largest employer, the federal government must become a model for the employment of individuals with disabilities and assure equal employment for everyone. Individuals and employers can learn more about disability employment by visiting The Campaign for Disability Employment at www.whatcanyoudocampaign.org/.

(Pendley is the supervisory librarian at the JBM-HH Library.)