WASHINGTON – In an effort to better understand long COVID-19 in U.S. workplaces, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Surgeon General are inviting the public to join a national online dialogue beginning today to gather ideas to better support workers coping with symptoms, their co-workers and their employers.

By some estimates, one in five people infected with COVID in the U.S. may experience a wide range of symptoms lasting three or more months that includes shortness of breath, fatigue, brain fog, heart palpitations, headaches, anxiety, depression and other symptoms.

“Understanding and Addressing the Workplace Challenges Related to Long COVID” is a virtual crowdsourcing event, hosted on the department’s behalf by its Office of Disability Employment Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Employment and Training Administration, and Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs.

Dialogue participants are invited to submit ideas, share comments and show their support for others’ ideas that they believe can help federal agencies identify and respond to long COVID’s workplace challenges, and help reduce the employment and financial impacts of the condition.

Specifically, the department is seeking public input on long COVID in the following areas:

• Challenges workers face as they cope with symptoms.
• Support for workers with long COVID from their employers.
• Ways to inform workers and employers about long COVID.
• Organizations to engage to develop solutions for those affected by long COVID.
• Obstacles to obtaining disability benefits that workers with long COVID face.

Learn more from the CDC about long COVID or post-COVID conditions.

View the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy’s answer to the question: “What is Long COVID and Who Can Get It?”

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that, in recognition of the vital role people with disabilities play in making the nation’s workforce diverse and inclusive, “Disability: Part of the Equity Equation” has been chosen as the theme for October’s National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2022.

Led by its Office of Disability Employment Policy, the department’s annual observance of National Disability Employment Awareness Month acknowledges the contributions to the nation’s economy made by workers with disabilities, current and past. The commemoration also showcases supportive and inclusive policies and practices benefiting workers and employers.

“A strong workforce is the sum of many parts, and disability has always been a key part of the equation,” said Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy Taryn M. Williams. “People with disabilities make up a wonderfully multifaceted group. By recognizing the full complexion of our community, we can ensure our efforts to achieve disability inclusion are, in fact, truly inclusive.”

The Biden-Harris administration has taken a whole-of-government approach to identify and eliminate barriers to helping historically underserved communities, including people with disabilities. On his first day in office, President Biden signed Executive Order 13985, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government” and directed all federal departments and agencies to examine their policies and programs.

In April 2022, the department published its Equity Action Plan to support marginalized, vulnerable and underserved communities, and outline its efforts to advance equity across the department.

The federal effort to recognize people with disabilities began in 1945, when Congress declared the first week in October to be “National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week.” The word “physically” was dropped in 1962 to include individuals with all types of disabilities. In 1988, Congress expanded the week and christened the month of October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of $8 million in funding over four years to manage the Leadership for the Employment and Economic Advancement of People with Disabilities Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Policy Development Center.

Administered by the department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, the LEAD Center is currently operated by a third-party contractor, and will soon be funded by the grant announced today. Once awarded, the center will continue to ensure people with disabilities, including those from historically underserved communities, have equal access to publicly funded workforce programs and services.

The LEAD Center focuses on advancing economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities, creating career pathways to competitive integrated employment and increasing data reporting on disability through WIOA programs. 

“Many people with disabilities make important contributions to our nation’s economy, but systemic barriers prevent others from preparing for and obtaining employment, achieving financial independence and reaching their full potential,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy Taryn M. Williams. “Initiatives like the LEAD Center are intended to address these inequities and ensure all workers, from all backgrounds, have access to workforce services.”

The LEAD Center is a core component of ODEP’s ongoing work with publicly funded workforce programs and services to maximize opportunities for people with disabilities, including those with significant disabilities, to set and achieve personal goals for success in competitive integrated employment. CIE is employment in a community setting where most workers do not have disabilities and employees with disabilities are paid directly by their employer at the greater of the minimum or prevailing wage.

Apply for the funding opportunity by the June 17, 2022 deadline.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today unveiled a public education campaign on the importance of mental health-friendly workplaces at the Society for Human Resource Management’s Workplace Policy Conference in Washington.

At the heart of the “Mental Health at Work: What Can I Do?” campaign is a public service announcement that highlights how everyone in a workplace setting – whether you are a CEO, manager, co-worker, or an employee who voluntarily identifies as having a mental health condition – can promote workplace well-being. These roles can range from setting the tone for an inclusive workplace, to providing and requesting assistance and accommodations, to being a source of support to peers and colleagues.

“Today, one in five working-age Americans has a mental health condition. As America recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health-friendly workplaces will be more important than ever,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. “This timely public education campaign reminds us that we all have a role to play, and that we all benefit from flexible, supportive workplaces that promote good mental health.”  

The video PSA, which will be distributed to television and radio stations nationally, and related companion materials can be downloaded online. Materials include posters, behind-the-scenes video interviews, workplace mental health resources and tips for using the PSA in your own workplace.

The PSA was produced by the Campaign for Disability Employment, a collaborative effort funded by the department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy that showcases supportive, inclusive workplaces for all workers.

“Mental Health at Work: What Can I Do?” is the fifth in a series of CDE-produced PSAs exploring different aspects of disability employment.

Learn more about the department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy today announced a webinar, “How Blended, Braided or Sequenced Funding can Help Drive Employment, Equity and Inclusion,” will be held on March 22 at 3 p.m. EDT, as part of its ongoing efforts to advance competitive integrated employment for people with disabilities.

Hosted by the National Center on Leadership for the Employment and Economic Advancement of People with Disabilities, this federal interagency webinar will allow state and local practitioners across the workforce systems supporting people with disabilities to discuss how they apply innovative collaborative resource sharing that benefits businesses and job seekers with disabilities.

The webinar is presented collaboratively with the department’s Employment and Training Administration and with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Administration for Community Living, the Rehabilitation Services Administration, the Office of Special Education Programs, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Social Security Administration.

The event will feature speakers from the following organizations:

• Colorado’s Office of Employment First; Department of Healthcare Policy and Financing’s Office of Community Living; Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
• North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services and Division of Mental Health; Developmental Disabilities; Substance Abuse Services.
• Arizona’s Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities; Rehabilitation Services Administration; Baboquivari Unified School District.

Speakers will share innovative approaches for the use of various funding sources to increase competitive integrated employment to benefit jobseekers with disabilities and employers in need of talented workers.

The webinar continues ODEP’s efforts to expand competitive integrated employment for people with disabilities. The agency works with federal partners and directly with states and service providers to help them leverage all available funding to maximize opportunities for people with significant disabilities to set and achieve personal goals for employment.

ODEP’s initiatives align with the Biden-Harris administration’s whole-of-government approach to ensuring the economic security of Americans with disabilities, including people from historically underserved communities. In July 2021, the agency published a fact sheet describing American Rescue Plan Act investments to expand CIE for workers with disabilities.

In concert with ODEP’s efforts, the U.S. Department of Education’s Rehabilitation Services Administration recently announced its Subminimum Wage to Competitive Integrated Employment demonstration project. The initiative will focus on the use of innovative approaches to increasing competitive integrated employment for individuals served by state vocational rehabilitation agencies.

Register for the How Blended, Braided or Sequenced Funding can Help Drive Employment, Equity and Inclusion webinar.

WASHINGTON –The U.S. Department of Labor today launched an online dialogue with stakeholders to increase access to Registered Apprenticeships for job seekers in underrepresented communities.

Conversation and ideas shared will help develop and shape future Registered Apprenticeship programs and funding opportunities, and foster diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.

“The U.S. Department of Labor encourages stakeholders to share their ideas and best practices for confronting equity challenges in Registered Apprenticeships so we can begin to address the occupational segregation and underrepresentation that people have faced for far too long,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Angela Hanks. “This dialogue is part of an ongoing discussion we need to have to help us diversify and expand the apprenticeship system so that employers, labor partners, workers and students from all communities understand and benefit from Registered Apprenticeships.” 

Co-hosted by the department’s Employment and Training Administration, Office of Disability Employment Policy, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, Wage and Hour Division and Women’s Bureau, the discussion will close Nov. 29, 2021.

The online dialogue furthers the department’s efforts to promote the value of inclusive apprenticeships for job seekers consistent with the aims of National Apprenticeship Week 2021. The dialogue will gather ideas for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility using the following themes:

• Fostering diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in Registered Apprenticeships to increase access by diverse and underrepresented population groups and reduce barriers to entry and success.
• Forming partnerships between government and industry to support diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in Registered Apprenticeships, including for high-growth, high-demand fields.
• Promoting outreach on advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in Registered Apprenticeships, including by using social media.

Register and participate in the online dialogue.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the newly redesigned Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion web site.

Supported cooperatively by the department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy and Cornell University, the EARN site offers resources to help employers of all sizes and industries recruit, hire, retain and advance people with disabilities and develop disability-inclusive workplace cultures.

The redesigned web site highlights four essential components of the employment lifecycle – recruitment, hiring, retention and advancement­­ – and explores how including people with disabilities in each of these areas helps employers meet their workplace diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility goals.

The resources include online training courses, useful checklists, policy guides, videos and recorded webinars on issues related to disability inclusion. The site also offers information on topics such as workplace mental health, employment issues related to coronavirus, inclusive telework, federal contractor requirements and the benefits of neurodiversity in the workplace.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2021, ODEP promotes policies and coordinates with employers and all levels of government to increase workplace success for people with disabilities. The agency supports policy development and technical assistance centers, including EARN.

Learn more about ODEP.

EARN is a free resource that helps employers tap the benefits of disability diversity by educating public- and private-sector organizations on ways to build inclusive workplace cultures.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an alliance with the American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in the national organization’s workplace equity efforts.

Established by the department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, the three-year alliance will include a range of collaborative activities and provide tools and information for the organization’s members in an effort to advance inclusion of people with disabilities in America’s workforce.

“Disability is an important component to pursuing workplace diversity, equity and inclusion. The American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity has a long history of supporting dedicated professionals whose work advances these goals in our nation’s workplaces,” said Office of Disability Employment Policy Deputy Assistant Secretary Jennifer Sheehy. “The organization joins our growing list of alliance partners who are determined to rebuild our economy equitably so that all people – including people with disabilities and others from historically marginalized communities – share in the benefits of our nation’s recovery.”

Founded in 1974, the non-profit American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity is the longest-standing national organization of equal opportunity professionals engaged in leading, directing and managing affirmative action, equal opportunity, diversity and other human resource programs.

“The members of the American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity are equal opportunity professionals in colleges and universities, private industry and government who understand and embrace the value of promoting access, equity and diversity for all employees, including individuals with disabilities,” said AAAED President Dr. Richard Anthony Baker. “Our organization and its members stand ready to partner with the U.S. Department of Labor and its Office of Disability Employment Policy.”

ODEP, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, is the only non-regulatory federal agency that promotes policies and coordinates with employers and all levels of government to increase workplace success for people with disabilities. Its alliance initiative enables organizations to work with the agency to develop and implement model policies and initiatives that increase the recruitment, hiring, retention and career advancement of people with disabilities. Learn more about ODEP.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor has announced the theme for 2021 National Disability Employment Awareness Month is “America’s Recovery: Powered by Inclusion.” Held each October, the annual commemoration raises awareness about disability employment issues, and celebrates the many and varied contributions of America's workers with disabilities.

Selected by the department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, the theme’s annual spring announcement helps the nation’s employers, disability advocates and other organizations plan their observances. As ODEP celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2021, it encourages all types of employers and community organizations, advocacy groups and schools to participate.

“Our national recovery from the pandemic cannot be completed without the inclusion of all Americans, in particular people with disabilities,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. “Their contributions have historically been vital to our nation’s success, and are more important today than ever. We must build an economy that fully includes the talent and drive of those with disabilities.”

“America’s Recovery: Powered by Inclusion” is a theme that reflects our commitment to an inclusive recovery, one in which those of us with disabilities have full access to economic opportunity and – if needed – the accommodations and supports that allow us to contribute our skills and talents,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy Jennifer Sheehy.

The history of National Disability Employment Awareness Month can be traced back to 1945 when Congress declared the first week of October to be “National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week.” “Physically” was dropped in 1962 to include people with all types of disabilities. In 1988, Congress made the commemoration a month-long event.  

Learn more about ODEP and read about how your organization can participate.  

WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of five grants totaling more than $103 million to five state agencies to continue and expand pilot projects to help newly injured and ill workers remain in the workforce.

Agencies in Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio and Vermont will receive funds to begin the second phase of demonstration projects in the development of the Retaining Employment and Talent after Injury/Illness Network. RETAIN focuses on implementing and evaluating stay-at-work and return-to-work strategies to help people to remain effective contributors to the labor force following illness or injury. States will use grant funds to improve coordination among employers, healthcare providers and other stakeholders able to help workers find alternatives as they decide whether to stay at or return to work following illness or injury.  

“The grants awarded today will support these states’ efforts to help workers keep their place as valued members of the workforce and avoid the kinds of severe economic loss workers may suffer when illness or injury occurs,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. “With millions of American workers forced out of work by injury or illness each year, expanding strategies like these will promote inclusive workforce practices and bolster our economic recovery at a time when our focus must be on stopping and recovering from this pandemic.”

RETAIN is collaborative effort by the department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy in partnership with its Employment and Training Administration and the Social Security Administration. The department has awarded Phase 2 grants to projects with a particular focus on underserved and underrepresented communities, both disproportionately hurt by the pandemic. As part of the grant program, the SSA will fund an independent evaluation of Phase 2 recipients while ODEP and ETA will jointly fund a contract to provide technical assistance for the program.

The grant recipients will receive awards as follows:

ODEP works to increase the number and quality of employment opportunities for people with disabilities by developing and influencing policies and practices. Learn more about ODEP and the RETAIN initiative.