WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy today announced the release of "Skills to Pay the Bills: Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success," a collection of career development exercises and activities designed to help sharpen the communication and other "soft" skills of young workers, including those with disabilities.

Partnership supports executive order on increasing federal hiring of individuals with disabilities

WASHINGTON — Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy Kathleen Martinez and U.S. Customs and Border Protection acting Commissioner David V. Aguilar today signed an alliance agreement to advance President Obama's executive order to increase the hiring of people with disabilities by federal agencies.

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis and Deputy Secretary of Labor Seth D. Harris today commemorated the Office of Disability Employment Policy's 10th anniversary by celebrating the positive impact of its policies and program initiatives with major leaders in the community. Featured speakers included Sen. Tom Harkin (Iowa); Rep. Steny Hoyer (Maryland); Kareem Dale, special assistant to the president for disability policy; Kathleen Martinez, assistant secretary of labor for ODEP and past assistant secretaries for the office.

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced four two-year cooperative agreements totaling $2,165,998 to consortia led by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois in Chicago, the National Organization on Disability in New York City, TransCen Inc. in Rockville, Md., and the World Institute on Disability in Oakland, Calif. These awards represent the second round of funding provided through the "Add Us In" initiative of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy today announced a total of $3,787,000 in continued funding for organizations managing consortia that develop models, provide technical assistance and share best practices to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

WASHINGTON — Today at the National Disability Forum in Washington, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced the availability of approximately $1.6 million in funding for the Add Us In initiative, which will fund up to three cooperative agreements with allotments ranging from $500,000 to $550,000 each.

WASHINGTON — Kathy Martinez, assistant secretary of labor for the Office of Disability Employment Policy, today testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions to discuss the U.S. Department of Labor's public and private partnership initiatives designed to connect people with disabilities and employment opportunities.

Top advisors on disability issues to answer questions submitted electronically by the public

WASHINGTON — Members of the White House Domestic Policy Council, Office of Public Engagement and Office of Presidential Personnel will participate in a virtual town hall meeting hosted by Disability.gov, the federal government's website for disability-related information, on Thursday, July 14, from 1-2 p.m. EDT. The event will be streamed live on the site's home page.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy today announced the official theme for October's National Disability Employment Awareness Month: "Profit by Investing in Workers with Disabilities." The theme honors the contributions of workers with disabilities and serves to inform the public that they represent a highly skilled talent pool that can help employers compete in today's global economy.

WASHINGTON — Kathleen Martinez, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, andMax Stier, president and chief executive officer of the Partnership for Public Service, today signed an alliance agreement to advance President Obama's executive order to increase federal hiring of people with disabilities.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy today posted an online toolkit comprised of resources to assist federal agencies in recruiting, employing and retaining individuals with disabilities. The kit is available at http://www.dol.gov/odep/federal-hire.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy today announced a series of new products through the Campaign for Disability Employment that are designed to promote the hiring, retention and advancement of people with disabilities, and dispel negative stereotypes about disability and employment.

Resource made available by US Labor Department

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense, today made available the 2011 Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities database. This resource is intended to assist federal and private-sector employers in identifying workers with disabilities.

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement on the president's proclamation of October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2010. The theme for this year is "Talent Has No Boundaries: Workforce Diversity Includes People with Disabilities."

WASHINGTON — As part of its "Add Us In" initiative, the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy awarded four two-year cooperative agreements totaling more than $2.4 million to consortia led by the University of Missouri-Kansas City in Kansas City, Mo.; Community Partners-Integrated Recovery Network in Los Angeles, Calif.; The Workplace Inc. in Bridgeport, Conn.; and the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy today announced the continuation of funding for a National Technical Assistance, Policy and Research Center for Employers on Employment of People with Disabilities at Cornell University. Continued funding in the amount of $1.6 million was awarded by exercising the first option year of a cooperative agreement between ODEP and Cornell University that provides for the center's operation. The center is also referred to as the National Employer Technical Assistance Center.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy today announced that it will exercise the second option year of its cooperative agreement with the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University and award an additional $1,150,000 to continue funding the National Technical Assistance and Research Center for Increasing the Employment and Economic Independence of Adults with Disabilities.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy today announced that it will exercise the second option year of its cooperative agreement with the Institute for Educational Leadership and award an additional $999,926 to continue funding the Youth Technical Assistance Center through the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth.

WASHINGTON — Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released, for the first time, a detailed comprehensive overview on the employment of Persons with a Disability: Labor Force Characteristics, 2009. Armed with this new data, researchers, disability advocates, and policy makers can better project labor force participation for working-aged persons with disabilities.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy today announced the availability of approximately $2.3 million in funding for the Add Us In initiative, which will fund up to four cooperative agreements with allotments ranging from $500,000 to $625,000 each.