May 28, 2015
Section 503 regulations require Federal Government Contractors to make good faith efforts to employ at least 7% of their workforce with IWD (Individual with Disability) across all job groups and types. To capture this, invitations to self-identify are offered in pre and post offer and every 5 years employees are invited to self-identify. Although the form is simple, getting candidates and employees to disclose is difficult. Of the many challenges, the most significant is creating a culture of inclusion in which employees feel safe, respected, and valued resulting in an increased number of employees feeling comfortable enough to self-identify.
In this session, you will hear recognized business leaders from regional Business Leadership Network affiliate members and past Circle of Champion Company Winners*, tentatively including Northrop Grumman and Anthem , share best practices, lessons learned using their holistic approach to disability inclusion and how they have leveraged their Employee Resource Groups (ERG’s), Accommodation Process/Centralized Accommodation budget and internal marketing campaign for self-identification to ultimately improve the disclosure percentage of candidates and employees. In addition, results gained from focus groups and surveys of IWDs and employers will be shared.
*Editor’s Note: The Office of Disability Employment Programs (ODEP) created the Circle of Champions (2006 – 2009), a select group of businesses that received the US Secretary of Labor’s New Freedom Initiative (NFI) Award. These businesses committed to reaching out to their peers to share best practices and innovative strategies for advancing the employment of people with disabilities. While the NFI Award is no longer in existence, the Circle Employers continue to meet bi-annually.