Last Tuesday, the American Bar Association’s Commission on Disability Rights hosted its 3rd National Conference of the Employment of Lawyers, which ACC and MCCA cosponsored. The event included seven sessions and a lunch program that offered an update on ADAAA regulations and the status of disability inclusion in the legal profession; best practices for law schools, corporations and law firms; and personal success strategies for lawyers with disabilities. Information was digestible and applicable, but the program’s real highlight was its incredible range of perspectives. Speakers were corporate and private practice lawyers, judges, policymakers and government representatives, with and without disabilities.
During the luncheon, keynote speaker Seth D. Harris, Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Labor, attributed the recession, healthcare, education and discrimination as the four primary barriers to employment of persons with disabilities. He said 80 percent of working-age people with disabilities are not employed, nor looking for employment.
“If a person with disabilities stays on SSDI or SSI, they are guaranteed government care. In the labor market, the odds they will receive healthcare at all are getting worse.” Harris talked about DOL initiatives and proposed regulations that are working to reverse these challenges. He also gave the audience a list of available government resources, including the Employer Assistance and Resource Network, which offers onsite, customized DOL training for employers. “We have made it easy — I’d say quite easy — for employers to learn how to accommodate employees with disabilities,” said Harris. “We can’t conduct business as usual and expect the number of persons with disabilities in their organizations to increase.”


