From: David Andrews 
Subject: White House Executive Order
The following Executive Order may be of interest to some of us.  Let's hope
it starts to make a difference...
David Andrews
>THE WHITE HOUSE
>
>Office of the Press Secretary
>________________________________________________________________
>
>For Immediate Release                             March 13, 1998
>
>EXECUTIVE ORDER
>
>INCREASING EMPLOYMENT OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES
>
>By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the
>laws of the United States of America, and in order to increase the
>employment of  adults with disabilities to a rate that is as close as
>possible to the employment rate of the general adult population and to
>support the goals articulated in the findings and purpose section of the
>Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,  it is hereby ordered as
>follows:
>
>Section 1.  Establishment of National Task Force on Employment of Adults
>with Disabilities.
>
>(a) There is established the "National Task Force on Employment of
>Adults with Disabilities" ("Task Force").  The Task Force shall comprise
>the Secretary of Labor, Secretary of Education, Secretary of Veterans
>Affairs, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Commissioner of Social
>Security, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of
>Transportation, Director of the Office of Personnel Management,
>Administrator of the Small Business Administration, the Chair of the
>Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Chairperson of the National
>Council on Disability, the Chair of the President's Committee on
>Employment of People with Disabilities, and such other senior executive
>branch officials as may be determined by the Chair of the Task Force.
>
>(b) The Secretary of Labor shall be the Chair of the Task Force; the
>Chair of the President's Committee on Employment of People with
>Disabilities shall be the Vice Chair of the Task Force.
>
>(c) The purpose of the Task Force is to create a coordinated and
>aggressive national policy to bring adults with disabilities into
>gainful employment at a rate that is as close as possible to that of the
>general adult population.  The Task Force shall develop and recommend to
>the President, through the Chair of the Task Force, a coordinated
>Federal policy to reduce employment barriers for persons with
>disabilities.  Policy recommendations may cover such areas as
>discrimination, reasonable accommodations, inadequate access to health
>care, lack of consumer-driven, long-term supports and services,
>transportation, accessible and integrated housing, tele-communications,
>assistive technology, community services, child care, education,
>vocational rehabilitation, training services, job retention, on-the-job
>supports, and economic incentives to work.  Specifically, the Task Force
>shall:
>
>(1) analyze the existing programs and policies of Task Force member
>agencies to determine what changes, modifications, and innovations may
>be necessary to remove barriers to work faced by people with
>disabilities;
>
>(2) develop and recommend options to address health insurance coverage
>as a barrier to employment for people with disabilities;
>
>(3) subject to the availability of appropriations, analyze State and
>private disability systems (e.g., workers' compensation, unemployment
>insurance, private insurance, and State mental health and mental
>retardation systems) and their effect on Federal programs and employment
>of adults with disabilities;
>
>(4) consider statistical and data analysis, cost data, research, and
>policy studies on public subsidies, employment, employment
>discrimination, and rates of return-to-work for individuals with
>disabilities;
>
>(5) evaluate and, where appropriate, coordinate and collaborate on,
>research and demonstration priorities of Task Force member agencies
>related to employment of adults with disabilities;
>
>(6) evaluate whether Federal studies related to employment and training
>can, and should, include a statistically significant sample of adults
>with disabilities;
>
>(7) subject to the availability of appropriations, analyze youth
>programs related to employment (e.g., Employment and Training
>Administration programs, special education, vocational rehabilitation,
>school-to-work transition, vocational education, and Social Security
>Administration work incentives and other programs, as may be determined
>by the Chair and Vice Chair of the Task Force) and the outcomes of those
>programs for young people with disabilities;
>
>(8) evaluate whether a single governmental entity or program should be
>established to provide computer and electronic accommodations for
>Federal employees with disabilities;
>
>(9) consult with the President's Committee on Mental Retardation on
>policies to increase the employment of people with mental retardation
>and cognitive disabilities; and
>
>(10) recommend to the President any additional steps that can be taken
>to advance the employment of adults with disabilities, including
>legislative proposals, regulatory changes, and program and budget
>initiatives.
>
>(d)   (1)   The members of the Task Force shall make the activities and
>initiatives set forth in this order a high priority within their
>respective agencies within the levels provided in the President's
>budget.
>
>      (2)   The Task Force shall issue its first report to the President
>by November 15, 1998.  The Task Force shall issue a report to the
>President on November 15, 1999, November 15, 2000, and a final report on
>July 26, 2002,  the 10th anniversary of the initial implementation of
>the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
>1990.  The reports shall describe the actions taken by, and progress of,
>each member of the Task Force in carrying out this order.  The Task
>Force shall terminate 30 days after submitting its final report.
>
>(e) As used herein, an adult with a disability is a person with a
>physical  or mental impairment that substantially limits at least one
>major life activity.
>
>Sec. 2.  Specific activities by Task Force members and other agencies.
>
>(a) To ensure that the Federal Government is a model employer of adults
>with disabilities, by November 15, 1998, the Office of Personnel
>Management, the Department of Labor, and the Equal Employment
>Opportunity Commission shall submit to the Task Force a review of
>Federal Government personnel laws, regulations, and policies and, as
>appropriate, shall recommend or implement changes necessary to improve
>Federal employment policy for adults with disabilities.  This review
>shall include personnel practices and actions such as:  hiring,
>promotion, benefits, retirement, workers' compensation,  retention,
>accessible facilities, job accommodations, layoffs, and reductions in
>force.
>
>(b) The Departments of Justice, Labor, Education, and Health and Human
>Services shall report to the Task Force by November 15, 1998, on their
>work with the States and others to ensure that the Personal
>Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act is carried out in
>accordance with section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as
>amended, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, so that
>individuals with disabilities and their families can realize the full
>promise of welfare reform by having an equal opportunity for employment.
>
>(c) The Departments of Education, Labor, Commerce, and Health and Human
>Services, the Small Business Administration, and the President's
>Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities shall work together
>and report to the Task Force by November 15, 1998, on their work to
>develop small business and entrepreneurial opportunities for adults with
>disabilities and strategies for assisting low-income adults, including
>those with disabilities to create small businesses and
>micro-enterprises.  These same agencies, in consultation with  the
>Committee for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled,
>shall assess the impact of the Randolph-Sheppard Act vending program and
>the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act on employment and small business
>opportunities for people with disabilities.
>
>(d) The Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development
>shall report to the Task Force by November 15, 1998, on their
>examination of their programs to see if they can be used to create new
>work incentives and to remove barriers to work for adults with
>disabilities.
>
>(e) The Departments of Justice, Education, and Labor, the Equal
>Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Social Security
>Administration shall work together and report to the Task Force by
>November 15, 1998, on their work to propose remedies to the retention of
>people with disabilities from successfully exercising their employment
>rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 because of the
>receipt of monetary benefits based on their disability and lack of
>gainful employment.
>
>(f) The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor and the
>Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce, in cooperation with the
>Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, the National
>Council on Disability, and the President's Committee on Employment of
>People with Disabilities shall design and implement a statistically
>reliable and accurate method to measure the employment rate of adults
>with disabilities as soon as possible,  but no later than the date of
>termination of the Task Force.  Data derived from this methodology shall
>be published on as frequent a basis as possible.
>
>(g) All executive agencies that are not members of the Task Force
>shall:
>         (1) coordinate and cooperate with the Task Force; and (2)
>review their
>programs and policies to ensure that they are being conducted and
>delivered in a manner that facilitates and promotes the employment of
>adults with disabilities. Each agency shall file a report with the Task
>Force on the results of its review on November 15, 1998.
>
>Sec. 3.  Cooperation.  All efforts taken by executive departments and
>agencies under sections 1 and 2 of this order shall, as appropriate,
>further partnerships and cooperation with public and private sector
>employers, organizations that represent people with disabilities,
>organized labor, veteran service organizations, and State and local
>governments whenever such partnerships and cooperation are possible and
>would promote the employment and gainful economic activities of
>individuals with disabilities.
>
>Sec. 4.  Judicial Review.  This order does not create any right or
>benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party
>against the United States.
>
>----------
>End of Document
>
>
>
>
>This list is a proud and grateful part of St. John's University's
>Athenaeum project. Learn more about this project at their web site:
>http://rdz.stjohns.edu/athenaeum
>
>Please note that, should you ever wish to leave the BLINDJOB mailing list
>in the future, you may do so by sending an e-mail message to
>listserv@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU. Leave the subject line blank, and in the
body of your
>message put the line
>
>unsubscribe BLINDJOB
>
>
---
 # Origin: NFBnet  Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045)
---------------