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Federal

Employment
Strategies
NAD Leadership Training Conference
Birmingham, Alabama
September 25, 2015
Howard A. Rosenblum, Esq.
NAD CEO & Legal Director

Federal Employment
U.S. Federal Government is the largest
employer of all people in the USA
(2,500,000)
Also largest employer of deaf and HOH
people in the world
But still not easy to get a job with US
Federal Government

Legal Requirements
Rehabilitation Act, not ADA, protects
deaf and HOH people from
discrimination by federal agencies
Requires provision of reasonable
accommodations including interpreters
for job interviews
Still many challenges

Executive Order 13548


Signed by President Obama on July 26,
2010 (20th anniversary of ADA)
Recognizes only 5% of federal
employees have disabilities, and less
than 1% have targeted disabilities
Requires hiring of 100,000 by 2015
Agencies are to increase Schedule A and
utilize centralized funds

Schedule A
A form that you can submit to get
federal jobs without competition
Most federal jobs are advertised on
www.usajobs.opm.gov
Must meet all job requirements and
submit resume and other documents
Must also have proof of disability

Schedule A (continued)
Must be certified as job ready which
can be done with help of VR counselor,
career placement oce, SSA, and other
benefits oces.
Other option is to be a temporary
employee to prove able to do the job
Contact Disability Program Manager
(DPM) or Selective Placement
Coordinator (SPC) at agency

Challenges with Schedule A


Limited opportunities, not apply to all
jobs or agencies
Once you obtain a federal job on
Schedule A, does not mean you can get
promoted
May require you to apply for new
position through usajobs

Accommodations Issues
Qualified Sign Language Interpreters
Videophones or other
telecommunications access
Captioning on video materials
Request process for accommodations

Need for Centralized Funds


Not all federal agencies have centralized
funds for accommodations
Those that do, have the highest numbers
of deaf/HOH employees
Reason why centralized funds work best
for deaf/HOH employees

Pre-Employment Strategies
Use Schedule A if you need to get
experience
Network on job availabilities and search
usajobs.com
Be VERY PREPARED for interviews, be
ready to give information to
interpreters

Employment Strategies
Discuss (not demand) accommodations
Show proof why the accommodations
needed will improve productivity
Sue when you have no choice, negotiate
before you sue

Q&A

Questions?

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