Disability Inclusion

The following resources provide information to help agencies create disability-inclusive workplace policies and practices.

The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) is a non-regulatory federal agency that promotes policies and coordinates with employers and all levels of government to increase workplace success for people with disabilities.

The Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN) is an ODEP technical assistance center that provides resources to help employers recruit, hire, retain, and advance individuals with disabilities and comply with their responsibilities under the ADA.

Inclusion@Work: A Framework for Building a Disability-Inclusive Organization allows organizations to explore strategies for creating disability-inclusive workplace cultures and meeting your organization's diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility goals.

State Exchange on Employment and Disability (SEED) is a state-federal collaboration that supports state and local governments in adopting and implementing inclusive policies and best practices that lead to increased employment opportunities for people with disabilities and a stronger, more inclusive American workforce and economy.

Work Matters Checklist: Policy Options for Enhancing the Employment of People with Disabilities outlines policy options for state and local government leaders to enhance the employment of people with disabilities.

The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) provides extensive technical assistance on the reasonable accommodations provision of the ADA. JAN provides expert guidance, training, and resources to individuals and employers on all aspects of accommodations.

• Employers' Practical Guide to Reasonable Accommodation Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a summary of some of the most frequent issues that employers have regarding accommodations and ADA compliance and ideas for resolving them.
• Disability Employment and Inclusion: Your Guide to Success guides readers through the process of creating and executing an effective disability employment and inclusion program.

BenchmarkABILITY is a self-assessment tool for organizations that are interested in the representation of people with disabilities in their workforce. Organizations can use this tool to track progress toward the implementation of effective human resource policies and practices around disability in six specific categories:

• Recruitment & Hiring
• Career Development & Retention
• Accessibility & Accommodation
• Compensation & Benefits
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Metrics & Analytics

The National Organization on Disability is a nonprofit that increases work opportunities for people with disabilities

• NOD Employment Tracker™ is a free survey that assesses an organization’s current disability employment policies and practices, including strategy, talent outcome metrics, climate and culture, talent sourcing, people practice, and workplace tools and accessibility. Upon completion, the organization will receive a scorecard that can assist them in developing plans and priorities for improving employment practice and policy.
• National Organization on Disability: Services provides summaries of resources and services available from NOD.

Disability:IN is a nonprofit resource for business disability inclusion worldwide.

• The Disability Equality Index (DEI) is a joint initiative with the American Association of People with Disabilities and is a benchmarking tool that helps companies build a roadmap of measurable, tangible actions that they can take to achieve disability inclusion and equality. The DEI provides an objective score and roadmap on disability inclusion policies and practices.

Getting to Equal: the Disability Inclusion Advantage: This research conducted by from Accenture, in partnership with Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities, reveals that companies that embrace best practices for employing and supporting more persons with disabilities have outperformed their peers.

Putting the “D” in DEI: Disability Inclusion in Your DEI Efforts. Since 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act has protected employees from discrimination based on disability. Despite this civil protection, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities remains significantly higher than that of nondisabled individuals. For those with disabilities who are employed, they continue to face significant barriers to gainful employment that ensures a living wage and is free from ableism. In this presentation, Nellie Galindo, MSW, MSPH, discusses ways your organization can better recruit, retain, and accommodate employees with disabilities, as well as dispel common myths about working with a disability.