Since the Commission meeting on the employment of individuals with targeted disabilities held last summer, Commissioner Griffin and her staff have been very busy working to forward the overarching goal of the LEAD Initiative: to significantly increase the population of individuals with targeted disabilities employed by the federal government. Below is a brief overview of just a few of the many activities the Commissioner and her staff have been engaged in.
Future Events
December 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007 - SCHEDULE A HIRING AUTHORITY WORKSHOP; 10am - Noon
This event, hosted by the Department of Labor, is open to all agencies. Come learn how to use the Schedule a hiring authority, and thereby assist your agency to improve on its population of individuals with targeted disabilities. For more information, or to RSVP, contact Kimberly Collier at (202) 693-7606.
See Invitaion in HTML or PDF format.
December 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007 - JAN 2007-2008 Accommodation and Compliance Webcast Series, featuring Commissioner Griffin and Linda Carter Batiste of JAN; 2:00 - 3:00 pm.
Why isn't your agency hiring individuals with targeted disabilities?? (Especially when it is so easy!). EEOC's LEAD initiative was launched to address the alarming decline in the number of individuals with severe disabilities employed in federal agencies. Through LEAD, it has become clear that, while many agency officials want to address this problem within their agency, they are not sure how to address it. Come learn the answer to that question during this informative session. Attendees will be provided with nuts and bolts information on the special hiring authorities and opportunities available for people with disabilities that officials can put to use immediately. Further, this session will provide information on how to quickly and effectively accommodate employees with disabilities at little or no cost! For more information and to register for this webcast, please go to http://www.jan.wvu.edu/webcast/#webcasts.
December 5-7, 2007 - Get an edge in recruiting, hiring and retaining qualified federal employees with disabilities. Attend the 26th Annual Perspectives on Employment of Persons with Disabilities Conference to find the latest information on personnel policies and practices, developments in technology, legal updates, and resources that will help your agency achieve its goals. Through workshops, keynote speakers and a general session you will hear from key officials and experts knowledgeable in disability employment issues in the federal sector. Perspectives also offers a unique opportunity to learn from and network with your federal colleagues from across the nation in an informal and comfortable setting. Federal HR and EEO specialists, hiring managers, and others who manage employment matters concerning persons with disabilities should attend the Perspectives Conference! For more information, go to https://register.grad.usda.gov/Conferences/Perspectives/.
Past Events
November 2007
On November 13, 2007, Commissioner Griffin will speak to the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) and the Executive Council on Integrity and Efficiency (ECIE) about LEAD. PCIE members include the 28 Inspectors General appointed by the President; ECIE members include the 29 Inspectors General appointed by their respective agency heads. More information can be found at www.ignet.gov.
On November 15, 2007, Commissioner Griffin, together with Dinah Cohen of DOD's CAP program , will address National Image, Inc.'s, Leadership Training Conference. The event is being held in Arlington, VA. For more information on this group or event, please go to http://www.nationalimageinc.org/index.php.
October 2007
On October 25, 2007, Commissioner Griffin spoke at the Defense Contract Management Agency in Boston, MA.
On October 23, 2007, Commissioner Griffin spoke at the National Defense University in Washington, DC.
On October 9, 2007, Commissioner Griffin spoke at the Federal Sector Disability Practitioners Forum. For more information on this forum, please see http://www.fdrconferences.org/course_details.php?ID=16.
On October 3, 2007, speaking on behalf of Commissioner Griffin, Commissioner Stuart Ishimaru addressed the US Department of Agriculture during the USDA's Disability Employment Awareness Month Opening Ceremony. The remarks included current statistics for people with targeted disabilities, as well as a discussion of disability as a component of diversity.
August 2007
On August 7, 2007, Commissioner Griffin served as the keynote speaker at the annual Job Accommodation Network (JAN) Conference. The theme of JAN's 2007 conference, held in Arlington, VA, was "Empowering Employers to Build an Inclusive Workforce." Commissioner Griffin's remarks can be found here.
Commissioner Griffin co-presented again with Dinah Cohen of CAP at EEOC's 10th Annual EXCEL Conference! The Commissioner and Ms. Cohen provided a dynamic speech on hiring and accommodating individuals with disabilities. The session was held on Tuesday, August, 14, 2007, from 10:30am to 12:00pm. For more information, please visit the EXCEL web site at http://www.eeotraining.eeoc.gov/profile/web/index.cfm?PKwebID=0x7993728.
July 2007 - Commissioner Griffin co-presented, with Dinah Cohen of CAP, at the 22nd Annual Federal Dispute Resolution Conference. CAP, or the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program, provides assistive technology and services to people with disabilities, Federal managers, supervisors, IT professionals, and Wounded Services Members. The Commissioner and Ms. Cohen provided a six-hour, comprehensive workshop on hiring and accommodating individuals with disabilities. The session was tremendously well received! Learn more about CAP at http://www.tricare.mil/cap/.
Also in July of this year, Commissioner Griffin visited the EARN office. The Employer Assistance & Recruiting Network is a free service that connects employers looking for quality employees with skilled job candidates. Discover what employers across the nation have learned: hiring people with disabilities is a great business strategy! Learn more about EARN and how you can use it to further the goals of the LEAD Initiative! Visit their web site at http://www.earnworks.com/.
June 2007 - Commissioner Griffin addressed the National Disability Rights Network's (NDRN) Annual Conference in St. Louis, MO. She spoke about employment in the Federal government, and what state and local advocates could do to assist their clients in this area, including how to effectively use the Schedule A Hiring Authority.
May 2007 - Commissioner Griffin addressed the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Government (DHHIG), a vital advocacy group of federal employees, at the DHHIG National Training Conference. Her address included information about the LEAD Initiative.
April 2007 - Commissioner Griffin addressed the Disability Employment Institute in West Virginia. Among audience members was the governor of West Virginia, Joe Manchin! Governor Manchin introduced Commissioner Griffin. The Commissioner impressed upon the many West Virginia business leaders the need to include individuals with disabilities among their workforce.
March 2007 - Commissioner Griffin presented the keynote address at the US Navy-s first ever joint civilian EEO and military EO conference. The theme of the conference was -Equality of Opportunity . . . Roadmap to Diversity.- Commissioner Griffin reminded the crowd of hundreds that diversity includes disability. During her address, the Commissioner acknowledged the efforts of the Navy to improve the participation rate of individuals with severe disabilities in its workforce. Specifically, Assistant Secretary William Navas issued a memo detailing the Navy-s plan to hire 400 individuals with severe disabilities during 2007. Navy is well on the way to success in this area!
February 2007 - Commissioner Griffin spoke at the Salvation Army/National Business Services Alliance (NBSA) Job-Readiness-Training Employer Needs Summit in Houston. This summit was the first of its kind in the Houston area, specifically put together to address the employment needs of displaced Hurricane Katrina survivors. In addition to encouraging the business leaders in the crowd to embrace these "New Houstonians" when looking for new workforce talent, she also weaved in her call to also remember individuals with disabilities when searching for new workers.
December 2006 - In December of last year, OPM
Director Linda Springer and Commissioner Griffin served as co-keynote
presenters at the 16thAnnual Perspectives on Employment of Persons with Disabilities Conference
. Director Springer and Commissioner
Griffin both spoke about the need for senior leaders at all federal
agencies to embrace individuals with disabilities as a valuable workforce
resource. Both also spoke about the need for agencies to set goals
for the employment of individuals with disabilities. Notably,
Director Springer endorsed Commissioner Griffin's call for
all federal agencies to "get to 2% by 2010," which will mark the 20th
anniversary of the ADA. Director Springer and OPM have
further proven to be a great champion of the LEAD Initiative as OPM
announced plans to feature a severely disabled federal employee in its
next national recruitment advertisement.
Commissioner Griffin's remarks. To view the entire series
of ads, go to http://www.opm.gov/Video_Library/RecruitmentShowcase/index.asp.
November 2006 - Several LEAD focus group discussions were hosted. Constituents were invited to come and discuss/share best practices, thoughts on what agencies have successful Schedule A programs, and general suggestions on addressing the problem of declining employment numbers for people with severe disabilities. Also in November 2006, Commissioner Griffin met with the Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) Council during their quarterly meeting at OPM, to engage the federal HR community in the LEAD Initiative efforts.
October 2006 - Commissioner Griffin spoke at numerous Disability Employment Awareness Month (DEAM) events about the LEAD Initiative. She addressed audiences at HHS, DOI, VA, IRS and NASA, just to name a few.
September 2006 - Through the LEAD Initiative and in conjunction with OPM, EEOC hosted a training seminar on the Schedule A hiring authority. For those of you who don't know, the Schedule A hiring authority (http://www.opm.gov/fedregis/2006/71-072606-42246-a.htm) is a terrific HR tool that agencies can use to hire people with disabilities (hiring managers take note!). More than 140 people attended this first training seminar.
This page was last modified on November 30, 2007.
