Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act was strengthened to hold employers with federal contracts accountable for hiring people with disabilities. As time for full enforcement approaches, it is an opportunity to strengthen competitiveness through greater inclusiveness.
BY JEREMIAH PRINCE

New rules for Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act (RA) of 1973 took effect March 24, 2014, with little fanfare, but they are important in many ways. The rules strengthen the enforcement of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and put new requirements into place concerning the recruiting, hiring and accommodation of people with disabilities.

Applicable to businesses with federal contracts, including subcontractors, the RA is intended to boost the employment of individuals with disabilities, which unfortunately has been going slowly despite passage of the ADA.

Instead of viewing the RA as yet another government regulation, it should be embraced as a means of increasing diversity, strengthening inclusion, and building a new level of competitiveness.

Strengthening the Diversity Effort
It was expected (hoped) that passage of the ADA in 2008 would have a significant impact on the employment of people with disabilities. Sadly, 2012 statistics showed that full-time employment of people with disabilities still lagged far behind the employment of people without disabilities – 20.9 percent to 56.4 percent. To change the statistics, the U.S. federal government issued the new RA rules that cover employers who have 50 or more employees and a federal contract or subcontract worth at least $50,000.

The new rules add significant new employer requirements. For people with disabilities, employers must establish, or already have in effect, an affirmative action program and a tracking program to measure against a 7 percent benchmark or aspirational goal. It is not a quota. For employers with 100 or more employees, the 7 percent applies to the each job group. For employers with less than 100 employees, the 7 percent applies to the whole workforce.

The rules require employers to invite job applicants to self-identify during the application stage and after a job offer is made. Current employees are asked to self-identify every five years. The self- identification information is to be kept separate from employee Human Resources personnel records and cannot be used for employment decisions. Also, the people who self-identify do not have to have previously claimed accommodation.

Strengthening Metrics
An important section of the RA requires data collection and tracking, indicating the seriousness of the effort to employ more people with disabilities. The data will prove if progress is being made.

Employers must collect data on the number of applicants and employees who self-identify the number of job openings, the total number of jobs offered to people with disabilities, and the number of jobs filled with people who have disabilities.

Another requirement applies to prime contractors who utilize subcontractors. If the prime collects voluntary disability self-identification data, the subcontractors should also do so. Employers will participate in compliance reviews with the U.S. Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).

Strengthening the Role of People with Disabilities
There are two ways to approach the new rules. The negative one is that the rules, once again, add yet another administrative burden on businesses. The other perspective is to view the rules as an opportunity to strengthen nondiscrimination in the workplace, increase the labor force participation rate of people with disabilities, add new perspectives to employer’s processes and programs, and embrace diversity in all its meaning. The employer sends a powerful message to the workplace when leaders willingly embrace the new rules and increase utilization of people with disabilities and implement accommodations.

As of now, the federal government has purposely avoided instituting fines or penalties for not meeting the 7 percent goal. The reason is that the government does not want employers thinking in terms of quotas or hiring up to 7 percent and ceasing effort. The concentration on numbers can defeat the real purpose of the RA – to include people with disabilities in real employment opportunities by removing barriers. If the 7 percent is not met, the employer needs to do an assessment, try to determine the reasons for failing to reach the goal, and then develop and implement an action plan to correct the issues. Once the RA is fully implemented, and the government believes employers have had enough time to implement a sincere and fair plan for attracting and hiring people with disabilities, there will be penalties.

The government is not revealing them at this point. The regulations do allow accrued payments on federal contracts to be withheld as necessary to correct violations of the RA. There is also a clause for contract termination and debarment, but there is no reason for an employer to reach this point, if making a sincere effort to attract and hire the disabled.

Acting with Sincerity
Doing an assessment of barriers is an important process and should not wait for reporting to initiate action. Section 503 significantly raises disability as an affirmative action category. Employers who sincerely want a diverse and inclusive workplace will develop an affirmative action for people of disabilities, addressing recruitment strategies and unbiased hiring practices.

It does not end there. Offering workplace training to help the workforce overcome misunderstanding and stigmas associated with disabilities is critical. Without this training, the risk is higher that people with disabilities will experience discrimination.

Working with organizations like the National Organization on Disability and the American Association of People with Disabilities can help employers better understand the needs of people with disabilities, how to identify and remove barriers to employment, and how to educate coworkers and managers. Recruiters, Human Resources professionals and senior leaders should all be on board.

Section 503 of the RA is a federal regulation, but employers should consider this a renewed opportunity to attract, hire and retain people who can bring a whole new set of perspectives to the workplace. Inclusion is not a principle of include some, but not others. Technology has removed many of the barriers that once existed, opening up new opportunities to access a new talent pool.

Section 503 is a paradigm shift for employers because now they can invite candidates early in the application process to self-identify as persons of disability. This is a refreshing change in which having a disability is not something to hide from employers. That alone can go a long way toward changing attitudes.