Back to Work – Legal Corner

CVC explores federal programs that help those with disabilities find employment.

On May 27, 2014, the Department of Labor, through Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez, announced an additional $15 million in grants to state agencies to develop strategies for increasing participation of people with disabilities in the workforce through the Disability Employment Initiative (DEI). This article will discuss the DEI, along with other workforce programs available to individuals with disabilities.

The Disability Employment Initiative (DEI) is a federal program created to improve education, training, and employment opportunities for individuals who are unemployed, underemployed, or receiving Social Security disability benefits. The DEI has three components: cooperative agreements, technical assistance to grantees, and evaluation of the grantees’ activities to measure outcomes.

The Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration and Office of Disability Employment Policy jointly run the DEI, which focuses on developing programs at the state and local levels by awarding grants to state and local entities. To be eligible for a grant, the state or local entity must participate in the Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work Program (see below).

Since 2010, the Department of Labor has awarded over $81 million in grants to 26 states through the DEI. Other successes include:

• Increased collaboration among a variety of partners to assist individuals with disabilities in finding employment
• Increased accessibility to American Job Centers, which provide free help to job seekers
• Training for staff of American Job Centers

The DEI releases grants through “rounds.” During its next round of funding, the DEI intends to award at least one grant to at least one project focusing on:

• Adults with disabilities, ages 18 or older;
• Youth with disabilities, ages 14-24; and
• Individuals with significant disabilities, ages 14 or older.

For more information about the DEI, see http://dei-ideas.org.

The Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP) is a federal recruitment and referral program connecting college students and recent graduates with disabilities to the workplace. The program assists students from all majors and levels, from college freshman to graduate and law students. Since its inception, over 6,000 students and recent graduates have received either temporary or permanent employment positions through the WRP.

Here’s how it works: during the fall of each year, a WRP recruiter holds an on-campus-interview with potential candidates to assess the candidate’s eligibility. Eligibility criteria include:

• Current, full-time undergraduate or graduate student or
• Graduated within one year of the release of the database each December; and
• Have a disability; and
• Be a U.S. citizen.

If eligible, the WRP assists the student:

• Market her abilities
• Hone her interviewing skills
• Gain on-the-job knowledge, skills, and abilities

If you are a student or recent graduate and interested in signing up for the WRP, contact your WRP campus coordinator during the preceding spring semester. Your campus coordinator will have specific instructions on how to proceed. During the fall, either October or November, you will have a phone interview with a WRP representative. The WRP representative then compiles the information and enters it into a database that federal hiring officials may search.

Private sector employers or students interested in private sector employment can benefit from the WRP by accessing www.askEARN.org.

For more information and helpful resources visit www.dol.gov/odep/wrp/Students.htm

Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act allows employers, upon authorization from the Department of Labor, to pay less-than-minimum wages to workers who have disabilities. The justification is that the person’s earning capacity or productivity is impaired by a disability, such as blindness or cognitive impairment. Many advocacy groups argue that this law, which first appeared in the 1938, is antiquated and discriminatory.

On February 12, 2014, President Obama signed an executive order that carves out an exception to Section 14(c) for federal contractors. The order essentially requires federal contractors, including workers with disabilities, be paid at least $10.10 per hour.

This new wage will apply to new contracts and for replacements for contracts with an expiration date of January 1, 2015.

The Ticket to Work Program, administered through the Social Security Administration, allows Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income recipients to test whether they are able to return to work without losing their benefits.

The program works by enlisting providers, called Employment Networks (ENs), to offer employment services such as career counseling, vocational rehabilitation, and job placement or training to the enrollee. The EN’s services are free of charge. If you enroll, you will be connected to an EN in your locality, which will assist you with developing an Individual Work Plan (IWP). This plan will help you identify your goals and employment needs. From there, the EN will assist with career counseling, job placement, and ongoing support.

While enrolled in the Ticket to Work Program, your return to work will not trigger a medical review of your claim. Further, your benefits will not stop for a time, depending on how much you are earning.

A similar program specific to Supplemental Security Income recipients, is PASS, or “Plan to Achieve Self-Support.” PASS allows a beneficiary to set aside money for expenses needed to start a business, go back to school, buy equipment and tools, or transportation and uniforms, or any other type of training, items or services needed to reach a work goal.

To set up a PASS, the first step is to decide on a work goal and the items or services necessary to achieve that goal. You can get help with creating a goal by contacting a PASS expert, Employment Networks involved with the Ticket to Work Program (see above), or a local Social Security office. You will then complete a PASS enrollment form (SSA-545), which you will submit to your local Social Security office. The local office will send the PASS form to an SSA employee, who will review your plan to see if the goal is practical, and the listed items are priced reasonably. If changes are needed, the PASS expert will work with you directly. For more information, see www.socialsecurity.gov/disabilityresearch/wi/pass.htm

This article surveyed only a few of the many programs that allow individuals with disabilities to flourish in the workplace. These programs build upon and strengthen each other, such as the DEI bolstering the Ticket to Work Program by requiring all participating agencies to become Employment Networks. With continued participation, collaboration, and investment, these programs will continue to expand the pool of qualified job seekers for the mutual benefit of the employer and employee.

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