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United States Code (Last Updated: May 24, 2014) |
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Title 29. LABOR |
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Chapter 16. VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION AND OTHER REHABILITATION SERVICES |
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SubChapter V. RIGHTS AND ADVOCACY |
§ 791. Employment of individuals with disabilities
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(a) Interagency Committee on Employees who are Individuals with Disabilities; establishment; membership; co-chairmen; availability of other Committee resources; purpose and functions There is established within the Federal Government an Interagency Committee on Employees who are Individuals with Disabilities (hereinafter in this section referred to as the “Committee”), comprised of such members as the President may select, including the following (or their designees whose positions are Executive Level IV or higher): the Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (hereafter in this section referred to as the “Commission”), the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Education, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Either the Director of the Office of Personnel Management and the Chairman of the Commission shall serve as co-chairpersons of the Committee or the Director or Chairman shall serve as the sole chairperson of the Committee, as the Director and Chairman jointly determine, from time to time, to be appropriate. The resources of the President’s Disability Employment Partnership Board and the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities shall be made fully available to the Committee. It shall be the purpose and function of the Committee (1) to provide a focus for Federal and other employment of individuals with disabilities, and to review, on a periodic basis, in cooperation with the Commission, the adequacy of hiring, placement, and advancement practices with respect to individuals with disabilities, by each department, agency, and instrumentality in the executive branch of Government and the Smithsonian Institution, and to insure that the special needs of such individuals are being met; and (2) to consult with the Commission to assist the Commission to carry out its responsibilities under subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section. On the basis of such review and consultation, the Committee shall periodically make to the Commission such recommendations for legislative and administrative changes as it deems necessary or desirable. The Commission shall timely transmit to the appropriate committees of Congress any such recommendations.
(b) Federal agencies; affirmative action program plans Each department, agency, and instrumentality (including the United States Postal Service and the Postal Regulatory Commission) in the executive branch and the Smithsonian Institution shall, within one hundred and eighty days after
September 26, 1973 , submit to the Commission and to the Committee an affirmative action program plan for the hiring, placement, and advancement of individuals with disabilities in such department, agency, instrumentality, or Institution. Such plan shall include a description of the extent to which and methods whereby the special needs of employees who are individuals with disabilities are being met. Such plan shall be updated annually, and shall be reviewed annually and approved by the Commission, if the Commission determines, after consultation with the Committee, that such plan provides sufficient assurances, procedures and commitments to provide adequate hiring, placement, and advancement opportunities for individuals with disabilities.(c) State agencies; rehabilitated individuals, employment The Commission, after consultation with the Committee, shall develop and recommend to the Secretary for referral to the appropriate State agencies, policies and procedures which will facilitate the hiring, placement, and advancement in employment of individuals who have received rehabilitation services under State vocational rehabilitation programs, veterans’ programs, or any other program for individuals with disabilities, including the promotion of job opportunities for such individuals. The Secretary shall encourage such State agencies to adopt and implement such policies and procedures.
(d) Report to Congressional committees The Commission, after consultation with the Committee, shall, on
June 30, 1974 , and at the end of each subsequent fiscal year, make a complete report to the appropriate committees of the Congress with respect to the practices of and achievements in hiring, placement, and advancement of individuals with disabilities by each department, agency, and instrumentality and the Smithsonian Institution and the effectiveness of the affirmative action programs required by subsection (b) of this section, together with recommendations as to legislation which have been submitted to the Commission under subsection (a) of this section, or other appropriate action to insure the adequacy of such practices. Such report shall also include an evaluation by the Committee of the effectiveness of the activities of the Commission under subsections (b) and (c) of this section.(e) Federal work experience without pay; non-Federal status An individual who, as a part of an individualized plan for employment under a State plan approved under this chapter, participates in a program of unpaid work experience in a Federal agency, shall not, by reason thereof, be considered to be a Federal employee or to be subject to the provisions of law relating to Federal employment, including those relating to hours of work, rates of compensation, leave, unemployment compensation, and Federal employee benefits.
(f) Federal agency cooperation; special consideration for positions on President’s Committee on Employment of People With Disabilities (1) The Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Education are authorized and directed to cooperate with the President’s Committee on Employment of People With Disabilities in carrying out its functions. (2) In selecting personnel to fill all positions on the President’s Committee on Employment of People With Disabilities, special consideration shall be given to qualified individuals with disabilities. (g) Standards used in determining violation of section The standards used to determine whether this section has been violated in a complaint alleging nonaffirmative action employment discrimination under this section shall be the standards applied under title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12111 et seq.) and the provisions of sections 501 through 504, and 510, of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12201–12204 and 12210), as such sections relate to employment.
References In Text
Level IV of the Executive Schedule, referred to in subsec. (a), is set out in section 5315 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, referred to in subsec. (g), is Pub. L. 101–336,
Prior Provisions
Prior similar provisions were set out in section 38 of this title.
Amendments
2010—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 111–256 substituted “President’s Disability Employment Partnership Board and the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities” for “President’s Committees on Employment of People With Disabilities and on Mental Retardation”.
2006—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 109–435, § 604(d), substituted “Postal Regulatory Commission” for “Postal Rate Office”.
1998—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–220, § 408(a)(1)(A), substituted “President’s Committees on Employment of People With Disabilities” for “President’s Committees on Employment of the Handicapped” in third sentence.
Pub. L. 105–220, § 341(c)(1), inserted “and the Smithsonian Institution” after “Government” in fourth sentence.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 105–220, § 341(c)(2), in first sentence, inserted “and the Smithsonian Institution” after “in the executive branch” and substituted “such department, agency, instrumentality, or Institution” for “such department, agency, or instrumentality”.
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 105–220, § 341(c)(3), inserted “and the Smithsonian Institution” after “instrumentality”.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 105–220, § 408(a)(1)(B), substituted “individualized plan for employment” for “individualized written rehabilitation program”.
1993—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–73 in first sentence inserted comma after “Veterans Affairs”.
1992—Pub. L. 102–569, § 102(p)(29)(A), substituted “disabilities” for “handicaps” in section catchline.
Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–569, § 503(a), substituted “the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs” for “the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and”, and amended second sentence generally. Prior to amendment, second sentence read as follows: “The Secretary of Education and the Chairman of the Commission shall serve as co-chairpersons of the Committee.”
Pub. L. 102–569, § 102(p)(29)(B), (C), substituted “Interagency Committee on Employees who are Individuals with Disabilities” for “Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees” and “individuals with disabilities” for “individuals with handicaps” in two places.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102–569, § 102(p)(29)(C), (D), substituted “individuals with disabilities” for “individuals with handicaps” after “advancement of” and after “opportunities for” and “employees who are individuals with disabilities” for “employees with handicaps”.
Subsecs. (c), (d), (f)(2). Pub. L. 102–569, § 102(p)(29)(C), substituted “individuals with disabilities” for “individuals with handicaps”.
Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 102–569, § 503(b), added subsec. (g).
1991—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–54 substituted “Secretary of Veterans Affairs” for “Administrator of Veterans’ Affairs”.
1988—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–630, § 206(a)(3)(C), which directed substitution of “Employment of People With Disabilities” for “Employment of the Handicapped” in second sentence, could not be executed because the words did not appear in second sentence.
Pub. L. 100–630, § 206(a)(1)–(3)(B), (4), inserted “(hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘Commission’)” after first reference to “Equal Employment Opportunity Commission” and substituted “Commission” for “Equal Opportunity Employment Commission” wherever appearing, “Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Education, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services” for “Secretaries of Labor and Education and Health and Human Services” in first sentence, “co-chairpersons” for “co-chairmen” in second sentence, and “Commission” for “Office” in cl. (2).
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 100–630, § 206(a)(2), (5), substituted “submit to the Commission” for “submit to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission”, “employees with handicaps” for “handicapped employees”, and “Commission, if the Commission determines” for “Office, if the Office determines”.
Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 100–630, § 206(a)(2), substituted “Commission” for “Equal Opportunity Employment Commission” wherever appearing.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 100–630, § 206(a)(6), substituted “an individualized” for “a individualized”.
Subsec. (f)(1), (2). Pub. L. 100–630, § 206(a)(7), substituted “Employment of People With Disabilities” for “Employment of the Handicapped”.
1986—Pub. L. 99–506, § 103(d)(2)(C), substituted “individuals with handicaps” for “handicapped individuals” in section catchline.
Subsecs. (a) to (c). Pub. L. 99–506, §§ 103(d)(2)(C), 1002(e)(1), substituted “Equal Employment Opportunity Commission” for “Office of Personnel Management” and “individuals with handicaps” for “handicapped individuals” wherever appearing.
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 99–506, §§ 103(d)(2)(C), 1002(e)(1), (2)(A), substituted “Equal Employment Opportunity Commission” for “Office of Personnel Management” wherever appearing, “individuals with handicaps” for “handicapped individuals”, and “of the activities” for “of the the activities”.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 99–506, § 1001(f)(1), substituted “a individualized” for “his individualized”.
Subsec. (f)(2). Pub. L. 99–506, § 103(d)(2)(C), substituted “individuals with handicaps” for “handicapped individuals”.
1984—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–221, § 104(b)(3)(A)–(D), substituted “the Chairman of the Office of Personnel Management” and “Education and Health and Human Services” for “the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission” and “Health, Education, and Welfare”, respectively, in first sentence, “Secretary of Education and the Chairman of the Office of Personnel Management” for “Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission” in second sentence, “Office of Personnel Management” for “Civil Service Commission” in four places, and “Office” for “Commission”.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 98–221, § 104(b)(3)(C), (D), substituted “Office of Personnel Management” for “Civil Service Commission” and substituted “Office” for “Commission” in three places.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 98–221, § 104(b)(3)(C), substituted “Office of Personnel Management” for “Civil Service Commission”.
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 98–221, § 104(b)(3)(C), (E), substituted “Office of Personnel Management” for “Civil Service Commission” in two places and “the activities of the Office of Personnel Management” for “Civil Service Commission’s activities”.
Subsec. (f)(1). Pub. L. 98–221, § 104(b)(3)(F), substituted “Secretary of Education” for “Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare”.
Effective Date Of Amendment
Amendment by section 341(c) of Pub. L. 105–220 effective
Pub. L. 102–569, title I, § 138,
Pub. L. 99–506, title X, § 1006,
Miscellaneous
For termination, effective
Executive Order
Ex. Ord. No. 10640,
Ex. Ord. No. 10994,
Ex. Ord. No. 11480,
Ex. Ord. No. 11830,
By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 501(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Public Law 93–112; 87 Stat. 390) [subsec. (a) of this section], it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. In accord with Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791) and Section 4 of Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 (43 FR 19808) [set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees], the Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees is enlarged and composed of the following, or their designees whose positions are Executive level IV or higher:
(1) Secretary of Defense.
(2) Secretary of Labor.
(3) Secretary of Education, Co-Chairman.
(4) Director of the Office of Personnel Management.
(5) Administrator of Veterans Affairs.
(6) Administrator of General Services.
(7) Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
(8) Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Co-Chairman.
(9) Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(10) Postmaster General of the United States Postal Service.
(11) Chairman of the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (Ex Officio).
(12) Such other members as the President may designate.
Sec. 2. The Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees shall also be referred to as the Interagency Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.
Ex. Ord. No. 12640,
Ex. Ord. No. 13163,
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to promote an increase in the opportunities for individuals with disabilities to be employed at all levels and occupations of the Federal Government, and to support the goals articulated in section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791), it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Increasing the Federal Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities. (a) Recent evidence demonstrates that, throughout the United States, qualified persons with disabilities have been refused employment despite their availability and qualifications, and many qualified persons with disabilities are never made aware of available employment opportunities. Evidence also suggests that increased efforts at outreach, and increased understanding of the reasonable accommodations available for persons with disabilities, will permit persons with disabilities to compete for employment on a more level playing field.
(b) Based on current hiring patterns and anticipated increases from expanded outreach efforts and appropriate accommodations, the Federal Government, over the next 5 years, will be able to hire 100,000 qualified individuals with disabilities. In furtherance of such efforts, Federal agencies shall:
(1) Use available hiring authorities, consistent with statutes, regulations, and prior Executive orders and Presidential Memoranda;
(2) Expand their outreach efforts, using both traditional and nontraditional methods; and
(3) Increase their efforts to accommodate individuals with disabilities.
(c) As a model employer, the Federal Government will take the lead in educating the public about employment opportunities available for individuals with disabilities.
(d) This order does not require agencies to create new positions or to change existing qualification standards for any position.
Sec. 2. Implementation. Each Federal agency shall prepare a plan to increase the opportunities for individuals with disabilities to be employed in the agency. Each agency shall submit that plan to the Office of Personnel Management within 60 days from the date of this order.
Sec. 3. Authority to Develop Guidance. The Office of Personnel Management shall develop guidance on the provisions of this order to increase the opportunities for individuals with disabilities employed in the Federal Government.
Sec. 4. Judicial Review. This order is intended only to improve the internal management of the executive branch and does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity by a party against the United States, its agencies, its officers, its employees, or any person.
Ex. Ord. No. 13164,
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701et seq.), as amended, and in order to promote a model Federal workplace that provides reasonable accommodation for (1) individuals with disabilities in the application process for Federal employment; (2) Federal employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of a position; and (3) Federal employees with disabilities to enjoy benefits and privileges of employment equal to those enjoyed by employees without disabilities, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Establishment of Effective Written Procedures to Facilitate the Provision of Reasonable Accommodation. (a) Each Federal agency shall establish effective written procedures for processing requests for reasonable accommodation by employees and applicants with disabilities. The written procedures may allow different components of an agency to tailor their procedures as necessary to ensure the expeditious processing of requests.
(b) As set forth in Re-charting the Course: The First Report of the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities (1998), effective written procedures for processing requests for reasonable accommodation should include the following:
(1) Explain that an employee or job applicant may initiate a request for reasonable accommodation orally or in writing. If the agency requires an applicant or employee to complete a reasonable accommodation request form for recordkeeping purposes, the form must be provided as an attachment to the agency’s written procedures;
(2) Explain how the agency will process a request for reasonable accommodation, and from whom the individual will receive a final decision;
(3) Designate a time period during which reasonable accommodation requests will be granted or denied, absent extenuating circumstances. Time limits for decision making should be as short as reasonably possible;
(4) Explain the responsibility of the employee or applicant to provide appropriate medical information related to the functional impairment at issue and the requested accommodation where the disability and/or need for accommodation is not obvious;
(5) Explain the agency’s right to request relevant supplemental medical information if the information submitted does not clearly explain the nature of the disability, or the need for the reasonable accommodation, or does not otherwise clarify how the requested accommodation will assist the employee to perform the essential functions of the job or to enjoy the benefits and privileges of the workplace;
(6) Explain the agency’s right to have medical information reviewed by a medical expert of the agency’s choosing at the agency’s expense;
(7) Provide that reassignment will be considered as a reasonable accommodation if the agency determines that no other reasonable accommodation will permit the employee with a disability to perform the essential functions of his or her current position;
(8) Provide that reasonable accommodation denials be in writing and specify the reasons for denial;
(9) Ensure that agencies’ systems of recordkeeping track the processing of requests for reasonable accommodation and maintain the confidentiality of medical information received in accordance with applicable law and regulations; and
(10) Encourage the use of informal dispute resolution processes to allow individuals with disabilities to obtain prompt reconsideration of denials of reasonable accommodation. Agencies must also inform individuals with disabilities that they have the right to file complaints in the Equal Employment Opportunity process and other statutory processes, as appropriate, if their requests for reasonable accommodation are denied.
Sec. 2. Submission of Agency Reasonable Accommodation Procedures to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Within 1 year from the date of this order, each agency shall submit its procedures to the EEOC. Each agency shall also submit to the EEOC any modifications to its reasonable accommodation procedures at the time that those modifications are adopted.
Sec. 3. Collective Bargaining Obligations. In adopting their reasonable accommodation procedures, agencies must honor their obligations to notify their collective bargaining representatives and bargain over such procedures to the extent required by law.
Sec. 4. Implementation. The EEOC shall issue guidance for the implementation of this order within 90 days from the date of this order.
Sec. 5. Construction and Judicial Review. (a) Nothing in this order limits the rights that individuals with disabilities may have under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.
(b) This order is intended only to improve the internal management of the executive branch and does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity by a party against the United States, its agencies, its officers, its employees, or any person.
Ex. Ord. No. 13548,
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to establish the Federal Government as a model employer of individuals with disabilities, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. Approximately 54 million Americans are living with a disability. The Federal Government has an important interest in reducing discrimination against Americans living with a disability, in eliminating the stigma associated with disability, and in encouraging Americans with disabilities to seek employment in the Federal workforce. Yet Americans with disabilities have an employment rate far lower than that of Americans without disabilities, and they are underrepresented in the Federal workforce. Individuals with disabilities currently represent just over 5 percent of the nearly 2.5 million people in the Federal workforce, and individuals with targeted disabilities (as defined below) currently represent less than 1 percent of that workforce.
On
As the Nation’s largest employer, the Federal Government must become a model for the employment of individuals with disabilities. Executive departments and agencies (agencies) must improve their efforts to employ workers with disabilities through increased recruitment, hiring, and retention of these individuals. My Administration is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in the Federal workforce through compliance with Executive Order 13163 and achievement of the goals set forth therein over 5 years, including specific goals for hiring individuals with targeted disabilities.
Sec. 2. Recruitment and Hiring of Individuals with Disabilities. (a) Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, the Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall design model recruitment and hiring strategies for agencies seeking to increase their employment of people with disabilities and develop mandatory training programs for both human resources personnel and hiring managers on the employment of individuals with disabilities.
(b) Within 120 days of the date the Office of Personnel Management sets forth strategies and programs required under subsection (a), each agency shall develop an agency-specific plan for promoting employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. The plan shall be developed in consultation with and, as appropriate, subject to approval by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and shall, consistent with law, include performance targets and numerical goals for employment of individuals with disabilities and sub-goals for employment of individuals with targeted disabilities.
(c) Each agency shall designate a senior-level agency official to be accountable for enhancing employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities and individuals with targeted disabilities within the agency, consistent with law, and for meeting the goals of this order. This official, among other things, shall be accountable for developing and implementing the agency’s plan under subsection (b), creating recruitment and training programs for employment of individuals with disabilities and targeted disabilities, and coordinating employment counseling to help match the career aspirations of individuals with disabilities to the needs of the agency.
(d) In implementing their plans, agencies, to the extent permitted by law, shall increase utilization of the Federal Government’s Schedule A excepted service hiring authority for persons with disabilities and increase participation of individuals with disabilities in internships, fellowships, and training and mentoring programs.
(e) The Office of Personnel Management shall assist agencies with the implementation of their plans. The Director of the Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall implement a system for reporting regularly to the President, the heads of agencies, and the public on agencies’ progress in implementing their plans and the objectives of this order. The Office of Personnel Management, to the extent permitted by law, shall compile and post on its website Government-wide statistics on the hiring of individuals with disabilities.
Sec. 3. Increasing Agencies’ Retention and Return to Work of Individuals with Disabilities. (a) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor and the Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, shall identify and assist agencies in implementing strategies for retaining Federal workers with disabilities in Federal employment including, but not limited to, training, the use of centralized funds to provide reasonable accommodations, increasing access to appropriate accessible technologies, and ensuring the accessibility of physical and virtual workspaces.
(b) Agencies shall make special efforts, to the extent permitted by law, to ensure the retention of those who are injured on the job. Agencies shall work to improve, expand, and increase successful return-to-work outcomes for those of their employees who sustain work-related injuries and illnesses, as defined under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA), by increasing the availability of job accommodations and light or limited duty jobs, removing disincentives for FECA claimants to return to work, and taking other appropriate measures. The Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall pursue innovative re-employment strategies and develop policies, procedures, and structures that foster improved return-to-work outcomes, including by pursuing overall reform of the FECA system. The Secretary of Labor shall also propose specific outcome measures and targets by which each agency’s progress in carrying out return-to-work and FECA claims processing efforts can be assessed.
Sec. 4. Definitions. (a) “Disability” shall be defined as set forth in the ADA Amendments Act of 2008.
(b) “Targeted disability” shall be defined as set forth on the form for self-identification of disability, Standard Form 256 (SF 256), issued by the Office of Personnel Management, or any replacements, updates, or revisions thereto.
(c) Not less than 1 year after the date of this order and in consultation with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Labor, and the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Personnel Management shall review the effectiveness of the definition of targeted disability set forth in SF 256 and replace, update, or revise it as appropriate.
Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations, and shall not be construed to require any Federal employee to disclose disability status involuntarily.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.