Letter to the Hon. Margaret Weichert - Duckworth, Langevin Lead Colleagues In Asking Trump Administration For Information on Hiring Targets, Retention Rates of Federal Employees With Disabilities

Letter

Dear Acting Director Weichert:

We are writing on behalf of the Federal employees in our states--specifically those with targeted disabilities. We are concerned that the Federal Government is falling short in its efforts to hire more workers with targeted disabilities and, even more troubling, may be removing these workers during their probationary period at rates higher than those for nondisabled workers. To further our understanding of this issue, we ask that you provide directly to our offices detailed data on the removal rates for both permanent and probationary employees, including their agency of employment, Veteran status, disability status and removal method.

As you know, the Leadership for the Employment of Americans with Disabilities (LEAD) Initiative, overseen by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), features a goal of two percent for the overall participation rate of individuals with targeted disabilities in the federal workforce. Targeted disabilities include autism spectrum disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, deafness or blindness and significant mobility impairment, among other conditions. The Federal Government further describes its commitment to hiring individuals with disabilities in its regulations implementing the Rehabilitation Act, which says explicitly -- "The Federal Government shall be a model employer of individuals with disabilities…with the goal of eliminating under-representation of individuals with disabilities in the federal workforce."[1]

Unfortunately, according to the EEOC's last Annual Report on the Federal Workforce, published in 2016, the Federal government is hiring these workers at a rate far below its stated benchmark. As of 2016, the participation rate for such employees was only 1.01%.[2] In addition, despite 2016 Office of Personnel Management and EEOC updates that broadened the definition of targeted disabilities, data provided to our offices indicates that, in 2017, the overall participation rate for such workers increased only to 1.34%. Even more troubling, the same data appears to show that in 2017, workers with targeted disabilities may have been involuntarily removed from their positions at double the rate of those without disabilities.

Many of these workers are prone to unemployment and underemployment as a result of their disability. A segment of them are Veterans. Reaffirming our Nation's commitment to this population of workers advances our common cause of a fair and equitable society for all.

Therefore, we request additional information to better understand the current administration's efforts to hire and advance these workers. Specifically, we request that you provide the most up-to-date calculation for the overall participation rate in the federal workforce for individuals with targeted disabilities. In addition, please provide the following information regarding federal employees who were removed from their position -- in years 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 (if available) broken down by:

Employment status -- including permanent or probationary as well as full-time or part-time;
Veteran status;
Agency[3];
Disability status (targeted, other, or no disability as outlined by OPM form SF 256); and
Removal method -- voluntary or involuntary.
We appreciate your attention to this request. We ask that you provide this information to our offices no later than [three weeks from send date]. Please contact our offices with any questions.

Sincerely,