Increasing Employment of People with Disabilities in Federal Agencies

U.S. Department of Labor’s Web-Based Toolkit Assists in Implementation of Executive Order 13548

The Year: 2015
The Goal: 100,000 workers with disabilities hired into the Federal government.

President Obama issued Executive Order 13548 to establish the federal government, the nation's largest employer, as a model for the employment of individuals with disabilities. The order directs agencies to improve their efforts through increased recruitment, hiring, and retention.

An online toolkit comprised of resources to assist federal agencies in recruiting, employing, and retaining individuals with disabilities is available on the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) website (http://www.dol.gov/odep/federal-hire). ODEP's toolkit guides users through five key steps toward making their agency a model employer, from initial recruitment to ongoing support and retention of employees with disabilities. Topics include "do's and don'ts" for interviewing, accessibility and accommodations, how to find technical assistance and creating a pipeline of candidates.