USDA: National Disability Employee Awareness Month

Dear USDA Employees,

Today we mark the beginning of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, which celebrates the contributions of workers with disabilities throughout American history and emphasizes the importance of ensuring that all Americans have access to the services and supports to enable them to work.

The federal effort to recognize people with disabilities began in 1945. In 1988, Congress expanded the week and named the month of October as NDEAM.

At USDA, we recognize the contributions of employees with disabilities and affirm our commitment to dismantling barriers to access and inclusion in the workplace. This year's NDEAM theme, "Disability: Part of the Equity Equation," encourages education about disability employment issues and celebrates the many varied contributions of America's workers with disabilities.

USDA 508 Compliance Training

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights is collaborating with Forest Service, Office of the Chief Information Officer and Dynamic Employees Beyond Disabilities, an Employee Resource Group, to host USDA 508 Compliance Awareness Oct. 19 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. EDT, please register ahead of time.

We all have an important role in achieving a diverse, equitable, inclusive and accessible workplace. This past month we released our USDA DEIA Strategic Plan, in which we identify goals and strategies that at the core build a culture that drives trust, belonging, transparency, accountability and employee empathy. It will also help us achieve a workforce representative of Americans that inspires development of innovative ideas and best practice. This includes hiring and retaining employees with disabilities-seen and unseen. USDA is proud to be a part of this year's National Disability Employment Awareness Month and committed to being a model employer of people with disabilities. We want to spread the important message that we value a diverse workforce, including individuals with disabilities. Throughout the month we will be engaging in a variety of activities to educate our employees on disability employment matters.

As part of our commitment, earlier this year, we hosted an employee resources group roundtable to ask for input on how we can be and do better. Based on your feedback, we are taking concrete steps to improve accessibility and inclusivity. Over the past year:

• We worked with our partners in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights to provide training for disability program managers, our employee resource groups, and special emphasis program managers across USDA.
• We began to offer updated courses on AgLearn to train our staff about the Americans with Disabilities Act so that new supervisors and coworkers may be aware of ways to best support their colleagues with disabilities.
• I've directed the subcabinet to prioritize hiring and recruitment. By placing special emphasis on underrepresented talent, we can build a diverse workforce that includes employees with both seen and unseen disabilities.
• In the National Capital Region, USDA re-centralized how sign language interpreting services are provided. USDA deaf and hard of hearing employees in the Washington, D.C., region will now be able to access sign language interpreting services through a centralized system.

For any NDEAM program related questions, please contact USDA's departmental disability program manager, Michael Dukes, at [email protected].

We look forward to celebrating with you.

Sincerely,

Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack
Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh

More Resources and Events

For additional observances and resources, please read the White House Initiative on National Disability Awareness Month and visit DOL's website for more information. For USDA observances and resources, please visit the USDA-OASCR website, Also visit AgLearn for even more announcements and resources.

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