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The tragic events of September 11, 2001, brought into focus the importance of taking into account the needs of all persons, including those with disabilities, in preparing for, and responding to, disasters and emergencies. This page contains resources for emergency planning for people with disabilities and links to organizations that deal with various aspects of this topic. Commerce employees may view the Evacuation Handbook for Herbert C. Hoover Building on the Department's intranet (pdf). (link for Commerce employees only.)


New Report on Emergency Preparedness for Federal Workers

The Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy recently released a report that gives federal officials and workers recommendations on ensuring a safe and secure environment for the more than 120,000 employees with disabilities who work in the federal government.

The 80-page report, "Emergency Preparedness for People with Disabilities: An Interagency Seminar of Exchange for Federal Managers," concludes that communicating with employees is the key to developing, implementing and maintaining emergency plans that address the unique needs of employees with disabilities.

The report also encourages:

* Senior-level management "buy-in" and a total budget and personnel commitment by each agency
* Agencies to build flexibility into their plans for evacuating and assisting people with disabilities by instituting backup emergency support plans
* Agencies to rigorously practice the plan with all employees so that they may become familiar with it and allow managers to evaluate the plan's strengths and weaknesses and make improvements

"Making the federal workplace a model workplace by assuring a safe and secure environment for employees with disabilities is critical," said DOL Secretary Elaine L. Chao. "President Bush has challenged us to remove barriers that impede Americans with disabilities from leading full and independent lives."

"There is no 'One Size Fits All' when it comes to emergency preparedness," said ODEP Assistant Secretary Roy Grizzard. "Today's report will help agencies create thorough and comprehensive emergency plans that provide for an appropriate course of action for all employees in an emergency situation."

View the full report on the Department of Labor's website.


Evacuation Chair Training.

Since the use of elevators during a fire or similar emergency in the Herbert C. Hoover Building (HCHB) is prohibited, evacuation chairs have been made available for future evacuation drills and in the event of actual emergencies. To ensure that the Department of Commerce can properly evacuate all its employees quickly and safely, the Office of Occupational Safety and Health is providing hands-on evacuation chair training sessions for HCHB's employees with disabilities, their evacuation buddies, and other interested individuals. To schedule training or for more information, please contact April Prather-Nichols at (202) 482-6370 to schedule a training session. (TTY Users may call via the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.Please be advised flat-soled shoes must be worn during training.


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Page last updated: Tuesday, May 16, 2006