Employment Initiatives for People with Disabilities

 

Providing Departmental policy, guidance and training on disability issues, i.e., addressing legal and other requirements for reasonable accommodation, program and facility accessibility and matters of disability awareness and sensitivity.

 

 

Laws

 

  • Text of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Sections 501 and 505 - the text of Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Pub. L. 93-112) (Rehab. Act), as amended, as these sections appear in volume 29 of the United States Code, beginning at section 791. Section 501 prohibits employment discrimination against individuals with disabilities in the federal sector. Section 505 contains provisions governing remedies and attorney's fees under Section 501. Relevant definitions that apply to sections 501 and 505 precede these sections.
  • Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 508 - Section 508 requires that Federal agencies must ensure comparable accessibility to persons with disabilities whenever that agency uses electronic or information technology, unless such access would impose an undue burden. This web site contains the text of Section 508, as amended, as well as other materials.

 

  • The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) - Effective November 21, 2009 This law makes it illegal to discriminate againt employees or applicants because of genetic information. genetic information includes information about an individual's genetic tests and the genetic tests of an individual's family members, as well as information about any disease, disorder or condition of an individual's family members (i.e. an indiviual's family medical history). The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. [http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statuses/gina.cfm]
  • Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) This law makes it illegal to discriminate against a quealified person with a disability in the private sector and in state and local governments. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of dicrimination, or participated in an employment descrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accomodate the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant or employee, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business. [http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statuses/ada.cfm]

 

 

Executive Orders

 

Executive orders are official documents, numbered consecutively, through which the President of the United States manages the operations of the federal government.

 

  • Executive Order 13124 - Amending the Civil Service Rules Relating To Federal Employees With Psychiatric Disabilities, June 4, 1999.

 

  • Executive Order 13164 - Requiring Federal Agencies to Establish Procedures to Facilitate the Provision of Reasonable Accommodation, October 20, 2000

 

 

Department of Commerce Administrative Orders

 

 

Guidance and Regulations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Office of Civil Rights (OCR)
U.S. Department of Commerce

Send questions and comments about this page to OCR@doc.gov
Page last updated June 17, 2014