“Given the necessary tools, people can become independent”

One of the founding tenets of the United States is that all people are equally free and independent, with the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This recognition, however, took many years to reach minority groups. Specifically, the concept of rights for people with disabilities only began to form many years later, after World War II. Even 15 years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, people with disabilities in the United States still have difficulty in establishing their autonomy and self-sufficiency.

But the nation’s commitment to the independence of every American, particularly of those individuals with disabilities, seems to be real. One example of this commitment is shown by the Department of Labor’s Office on Disability and Employment Policy (ODEP).

In its office on Constitution Avenue in Washington, DC, I was hosted by the Director of Policy and Research at the ODEP, Susan Parker. Parker is a fervent believer in the intrinsic potential of each and every human being. “Given the necessary tools, people can become independent,” she said with certainty. Since the beginning of her professional career working with people with psychiatric and developmental disabilities, she has supported the use of innovative methods to promote independent living in the community. Among other prominent positions, Parker has been Executive Director of the New Hampshire Developmental Disability Council, Maine Commissioner of Public Health, and Vice-Commissioner of Disability at the U.S. Social Security Administration. In her current position, she is in charge of numerous initiatives designed to reduce the unemployment rate of people with disabilities.

ODEP was created five years ago to show national leadership in developing and influencing employment policies and practices that affect people with disabilities. The organization is run by a subsecretary who reports directly to the Secretary of Labor. Parker explains, “We are not a regulatory or judicial organization, instead we operate on what would usually be referred to as a ‘win-win basis.’” The fact that the ODEP is a subcabinet-level department indicates the importance that the government has given it and guarantees direct communication and cooperation with the other ten subcabinets within the Department of Labor.

Parker says that the Office of Disability Employment Policy’s activities related to policy and work for people with disabilities are divided into five different areas:

1) Adult Policy, which is responsible for the production of research based on evidence gathered nationwide via grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. Its work is focused on examining diverse premises and practices, the latter including customized employment for people who want to work but have difficulty in finding employment that is appropriate for their desires, needs, and abilities.

2) Youth Policy, concentrated on the transition from school to work. Its research and pilot programs are focused in five areas: preparatory experiences based on school, preparation for a career and learning experiences based on work, youth and leadership development, networking activities, and family involvement and support.

3) Employer Policy, to enable employers to better employ, retain, and promote people with disabilities in their businesses.

4) Employment Support Policy, dedicated to the services, benefits, policies, tools, and equipment that enables people with disabilities to go to work and do our work, such as transportation, housing, and accessibility in the physical environment as well as in communications. “Our work in this area is the promotion of already existing policy, like section 504 of the US Rehabilitation Act, and section 508, which refers to communications,” she says.

5) Independently verified research, done by the ODEP and validated by third parties.

Parker also cites existing policies that protect the labor rights of people with disabilities, including:

1) The Americans with Disabilities Act, Title 1 (which requires employers with more than 15 employees to provide equal opportunity to qualified disabled individuals to benefit from the wide range of employment opportunities available to others) and Title 2 (which requires that local and state governments give disabled people equal opportunity to benefit from their programs, services, and activities).

2) The Rehabilitation Act, Sections 501 (which requires federal agencies to have affirmative action and not discriminate in employment), 503 (which requires affirmative action and prohibits discrimination by contractors and subcontractors of the federal government who have contracts worth more than $10,000), and 504 (which says that in the United States, no disabled person who meets the corresponding conditions can be excluded, denied the benefits of, or discriminated against by any program or activity that receives federal financing or that is administrated by the executive branch of power or by the U.S. Postal Service).

3) The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Section 188 (which prohibits discrimination in programs financed in accordance with WIA).

4) The Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Act (U.S. Code 38 USC 4212, which prohibits discrimination against and requires affirmative action by employers for war veterans).

5) The Civil Service Reform Act (only applicable to federal employees).

Other policies that are important to know about include: the Architectural Barriers Act, the amendments to the Fair Housing Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the Telecommunications Act.

Despite these policies, the employment rate of people with disabilities continues to be low. However, Parker points out that approximately 56% of people with disabilities between the ages of 16 and 64 are employed,* a figure that exceeds popular belief and previous reports from other sources. That said, the employment situation for people with disabilities is far from ideal.

“There are various factors that impede a greater access to work and you can find many studies and activities done by the ODEP with respect to those. One of them—which I frequently give as an example, though it isn’t the most important—refers to the fear that employers have of being sued by an employee with a disability,” Parker says. “Due to a lack of information, some employers think that an employee with a disability could become injured or their disability could become greater and that the employer would be responsible for that. At the ODEP, we freely assess employers to inform them and prevent unfounded fears.”

She also explains that the “lack of a good health care insurance offer with a job offer is another well known factor.” Additionally, the fears that people with disabilities have and the “soft bigotry of low expectations” frequently are internal elements that distance us from employment. Truly, though we know well that our will to work is not enough, we also know that without it we can’t take the first step, that without it we won’t achieve anything. Our will needs to be strong and convincing, like our forefathers, to understand that we can be free and independent, and to exercise our rights to work, a decent life, and happiness.

* Census 2000 Summary File #3 (March 2003)

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