Senator Patty Murray's office issued the following:
New report makes recommendations, urges action to modernize outdated disability employment policy and programs
In observance of National
Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), Senator Murray also
introduced a resolution in the Senate recognizing its importance
Additionally, Senator Murray
applauds National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and
Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) on its 40th anniversary
Washington, D.C. – As National Disability
Employment Awareness Month comes to a close, today U.S. Senator Patty
Murray, ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a new report
highlighting the challenges people with disabilities face in the
workforce when trying to secure or maintain employment. The report from
the Senate HELP Minority staff offers key recommendations to modernize
outdated policies and programs that have been a continued barrier to
people with disabilities in employment, including phasing out authority
that allows the Secretary of Labor to permit employers to pay people
with disabilities wages less than the federal minimum wage.
“People with disabilities should have
equal opportunities in the workforce as their peers without disabilities
do and it’s beyond time our laws reflected this truth,” said Senator Murray. “This
important report lays out several ways federal agencies and Congress
can and should update our outdated laws and programs to empower
individuals with disabilities and ensure that they, too, have an equal
shot at the American dream.”
In addition to offering recommendations, the
report examines disability employment outcomes with data from the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as well as summarizes outdated
programs and disability employment policy and provides an overview of
the HELP Committee’s findings on the vocational rehabilitation agencies’
continued efforts to implement the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehabilitation Act).
Prior to the release of the report, Senator Murray introduced a resolution in the Senate to recognize the importance of NDEAM. She also included a statement in the Congressional record in celebration of the 40th
anniversary of the National Institute on Disability, Independent
Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), a federal agency which
supports applied research, training and technical assistance to enhance
the lives of people with disabilities.
The full report can be found HERE.
