Diversity Jobs & Equal Employment

How To File a Civil Rights Complaint

2010-10-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

How to File a Complaint

If you feel a health care provider, or state or local government agency, has discriminated against you (or someone else) based on race, national origin, disability, or age, you may file a civil rights complaint. OCR can investigate disability-based discrimination complaints against programs operated by HHS. Under certain statutes and regulations, OCR also has limited authority to investigate complaints of discrimination based on sex and religion.

· Health Care Providers – Examples are hospitals, health clinics, nursing homes, treatment centers, physicians or programs that receive HHS Federal financial assistance.

· State or Local Government Agencies – Agencies that are responsible for administering health care, providing income assistance, adoption and foster care placement, and social services or human services.
For more information about the Civil Rights Laws and Regulations we enforce, please review our Understanding Civil Rights section or look at our Frequently Asked Question (FAQs).

COMPLAINT REQUIREMENTS - Your complaint must:
1. Be filed in writing, either on paper or electronically, by mail, fax, or e-mail;

2. Name the healthcare or social service provider involved, and describe the acts or omissions, you believed violated the civil rights laws or regulations; and

3. Be filed within 180 days of when you knew that the act or omission complained of occurred. OCR may extend the 180-day period if you can show "good cause."
ANYONE CAN FILE! - Anyone can file written complaints with OCR. We recommend that you use the Civil Rights Discrimination Complaint Form Package. You can also request a copy of this form from an OCR regional office. If you need help filing a complaint or have a question about the complaint or consent forms, please email OCR at OCRMail@hhs.gov.

THE CIVIL RIGHTS NONDISCRIMINATION LAWS AND REGULATIONS PROHIBIT RETALIATION - Under Civil Rights Laws an entity cannot retaliate against you for filing a complaint. You should notify OCR immediately in the event of any retaliatory action.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR COMPLAINT TO OCR - To submit a complaint to OCR, please use one of the following methods.

If you mail or fax the complaint, be sure to send it to the appropriate OCR regional office based on where the alleged violation took place. OCR has ten regional offices, and each regional office covers specific states. Send your complaint to the attention of the OCR Regional Manager. You do not need to sign the complaint and consent forms when you submit them by email because submission by email represents your signature.

Healthcare Legislation for People with Disabilities

2010-05-19T12:44:00.000-07:00

Healthcare Legislation Offers Mixed Bag for People with Disabilities, Finds Allsup - Safety nets added but questions still remain in the execution and long-term impact for people with disabilities, both while awaiting SSDI benefits and once eligible for Medicare.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 are the most powerful developments in decades affecting healthcare coverage for people with disabilities, according to Allsup, a nationwide provider of Social Security disability representation and Medicare plan selection services.

“Many of these healthcare provisions are desperately needed by people with disabilities who require but are unable to secure affordable medical treatment,” said Paul Gada, personal finance director for Allsup who directs Allsup Medicare Advisor®, a Medicare plan selection service for people with disabilities and individuals over 65.

People applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) may have to wait months, even years, for their claim to wind through the process. Currently, there are more than 1.7 million people stuck in the SSDI backlog and awaiting a decision on their claim for benefits. These individuals often have limited or no source of income and few healthcare coverage options. In addition, more than 7 million people who rely on SSDI benefits are eligible for Medicare, following a 24-month waiting period.

“People with disabilities need continuous access to affordable healthcare coverage,” said Gada. “They can’t wait until they have SSDI income to finally pay for healthcare coverage or hold out the 24 months required before becoming eligible for Medicare.”
Eliminating Pre-Existing Conditions Provides Some Relief, But Exposes Potential Gaps
One key provision of healthcare legislation having a profound impact on millions of people with disabilities is eliminating the pre-existing condition clause.
Starting later this year, children with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied health insurance coverage. This extends to adults in 2014 when state-run health insurance exchanges, which will have to cover pre-existing conditions, are established.

In the interim, as of June, the legislation creates temporary state-run high-risk insurance pools to offer coverage to individuals with pre-existing medical conditions who have not had insurance for at least six months. Most states have high-risk insurance pools already, but all states are required to establish these pools as of June, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will create one for them. People living in states with a high-risk insurance pool can go to their state insurance commission Web site to learn more, or visit the National Association of State Comprehensive Health Insurance Plans’ Web site for a complete listing at http://www.naschip.org/states_pools.htm.

“The high-risk insurance pools may offer some people a safety net if they’ve exhausted their COBRA coverage or were denied private coverage because of a pre-existing condition. However, more detail on how the pools will operate, how to enroll and costs are needed before people can determine their true value; it’s troubling that individuals will have to wait six months to be eligible,” said Gada.
People relying on Medicare may find fewer coverage options as a result of healthcare legislation. For 2011, the legislation freezes payments to Medicare Advantage plan providers at 2010 rates and further reduces payments over time to bring them in line with traditional Medicare.
Medicare Advantage plans have become increasingly popular because they generally offer more coverage options and are more affordable than traditional Medicare with Medigap supplemental coverage.

Medicare Advantage plans also have always been required to cover most pre-existing conditions, whereas Medigap plans are not required to cover pre-existing conditions and often exclude or limit coverage. As a result, Medicare Advantage plans often have been a better choice for people with disabilities. However, the reduced subsidies to providers under the legislation may reduce the number of insurers offering Medicare Advantage plans, and consumers may see premium increases or reductions in plan coverage benefits.
“With the healthcare provisions, people with disabilities may be caught in a position where they’re unable to afford a Medicare Advantage plan and unable to secure coverage under Medigap,” said Gada. “It is going to be very important for people to carefully review their options when making enrollment choices for this year and beyond.”

Additional Provisions Affecting People with Disabilities. Among the other provisions affecting people with disabilities are:

Expanding Medicaid coverage
Between now and 2014, when expanded Medicaid programs are required in each state, states can choose to apply to the federal government to receive additional Medicaid funding and expand their community health centers. Expansion could take on a variety of forms: an increase in staff, supplies and other resources or increasing the income limit to encompass more people. People can learn more about their state’s Medicaid offerings, when states will be expanding their coverage and how to apply by contacting their local Medicaid office. Contact information is available at http://www.medicare.gov/contacts/organization-search-criteria.aspx. Just search for either a specific State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) or State Medical Assistance Program.

In 2014 when Medicaid expansion is required, Medicaid in every state will cover people under age 65 who have income of 133 percent of the federal poverty line ($29,326.50 for a family of four in 2010). This is especially important to lower-income individuals applying for SSDI who have limited income and no coverage.
However, the legislation did not raise the asset value requirements of Medicaid eligibility. The maximum allowed asset value is determined by each state; among states that have asset value requirements, the maximum asset value generally ranges from $2,000 to $4,000 for single people and $4,000 to $6,000 for couples.

This excludes someone’s home, one car and their retirement savings, if they are under age 60; however, retirement savings are considered if they are 60 or older. As a result, someone no longer able to work because of their disability who had accumulated more than the allowable assets under Medicaid would have to chip away at this savings before becoming Medicaid eligible.
Expanding long-term care options

Starting in January 2011, the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act expands community living assistance options through a voluntary insurance program. Paid for through a payroll deduction of about $75 a month, all working adults will be enrolled automatically, unless they choose to opt-out. After a five-year vesting period, people with mobility issues are eligible for a cash benefit of at least $50 a day on average to buy non-medical services and support. Assistance may include caregiver support, adult day care and home modifications to support daily living, such as installing shower grab bars.

Removing limits on insurance coverage

Starting later this year, individual policyholders no longer will be subject to lifetime caps or have their coverage dropped, except in instances of fraud. Individuals who already have been dropped from their insurance will be eligible for the high-risk pools. In 2014, annual limits are removed and people with health problems can no longer be denied coverage or charged higher premiums; limits also are placed on how much premiums can increase as people age.

Reducing prescription drug costs

Effective immediately, Medicare recipients who have a gap in prescription drug coverage will receive a one-time, $250 rebate to supplement their medical expenses. Medicare Part D plan participants who have hit the donut hole will receive a $250 check. The first checks will go out in June to people who already reached the gap in early 2010. Additional checks will go out as people reach the donut hole, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Although details are still being worked out, these checks likely will be processed through prescription drug plans. Individuals who hit the donut hole but do not receive a check should contact their prescription drug plan to learn how to receive their rebate. Starting next year, pharmaceutical companies are required to provide a 50-percent discount on brand-name prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries facing the prescription drug donut hole with additional subsidies phased in through 2020 to close the gap.

Adding free preventive care under Medicare

Starting in 2010, Medicare beneficiaries can make free preventive care visits to their healthcare providers, without any copayments or deductibles. People with disabilities may have frequent appointments with specialists; this provision helps ensure basic health needs are addressed.

“All of these provisions have the potential of helping people with disabilities improve their healthcare coverage. However, more detail on how they will be carried out is needed to understand if they deliver,” said Gada.

For more information about Medicare coverage and options, contact the Allsup Disability Life Planning Center at (888) 271-1173.

Allsup is a nationwide provider of Social Security disability, Medicare and workers’ compensation services for individuals, employers and insurance carriers. Founded in 1984, Allsup employs more than 600 professionals who deliver specialized services supporting people with disabilities and seniors so they may lead lives that are as financially secure and as healthy as possible. The company is based in Belleville, Ill., near St. Louis. For more information, visit www.Allsup.com.

The information provided is not intended as a substitute for legal or other professional services. Legal or other expert assistance should be sought before making any decision that may affect your situation.
By Allsup - Apr 15, 2010 9:50:24 AM

What Will YOU Do? Focus on Ability

2010-05-19T12:41:00.000-07:00

By Guest Blogger Tracie Saab, Job Accommodation Network (JAN)

We each have a role to play and benefits to gain by improving employment opportunities for people with disabilities. I know - you’re wondering, “Me? What can I do to make a difference?” You (yes, YOU) have the power to shape attitudes about ability, to mentor a young person with a disability, to change the way people think about disability and employment and ultimately, to promote positive employment outcomes for people with disabilities. The ideas we perpetuate about disability and employment impact successful employment outcomes – either individually through our own positive or negative beliefs about ability or through the assumptions of others who have the power to make employment decisions.
When you were young, were there people who influenced your perception of what you could do when you grew up or played a role in helping you plan for employment? Was there someone, maybe a coach, teacher or mentor, who challenged you to aim high and dream big? When we focus on ability – what we can do – our perspective is wide-open. When young people are told they can achieve, they can win, they can dream - then they will set their sights high and aim to be the best they can be. The same is true for people who are given the opportunity to put their abilities ahead of their disability in the workplace. We influence these aspirations by the way we treat people and by creating opportunities for people to achieve success on the job.
A new public outreach campaign is showing employers that it pays to foster an inclusive and flexible work culture that considers the needs of all employees – including those with disabilities. The Campaign for Disability Employment, a newly-formed collaborative of leading disability and business organizations, has launched What Can YOU Do?, a national effort designed to promote the hiring, retention and advancement of people with disabilities and challenge assumptions about disability and employment. The partners in the Campaign have come together around the common belief that at work, it’s what people can do that matters. People with disabilities want to work and their talents and abilities will positively impact businesses both financially and organizationally.
Myths about disability and employment and attitudinal barriers and negative stereotypes continue to impact employment opportunities for qualified people with disabilities. We can all do our part to change these misperceptions by reminding young people with disabilities that they have the skills to pursue meaningful careers and play an important role in America’s economic success. We can also encourage employers to recognize the value and talent people with disabilities bring to the workplace, as well as what can be realized by fully including everyone. Every day, people with disabilities can and do add value to America’s workplaces.
So what can YOU do to support this effort and improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities?
You can join the effort and support the Campaign by being an ambassador of the What Can YOU Do? message. The Campaign’s Web site, www.whatcanyoudocampaign.org, offers a range of education and outreach tools, designed to engage employers, people with disabilities, families, educators and the general public in the effort. It features practical ideas and resources to support the Campaign’s goal of promoting positive employment outcomes for people with disabilities. Also available are video public service announcements (PSAs) including the Campaign’s “I Can” PSA – featuring seven people with disabilities, not actors, sharing what they “can do” on the job when given the opportunity – and “Meet Sue", winner of the What Can YOU Do? Video Contest. We encourage everyone to share these videos.
Please join the Campaign for Disability Employment in its mission to promote positive employment outcomes for people with disabilities by visiting the What Can YOU Do? Web site to access resources to assist in recruiting, retaining and advancing skilled, qualified employees and by sharing the important message that, “At work, it’s what people can do that matters.”
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN FOR DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT:
The Campaign for Disability Employment is a collaborative effort among several disability and business organizations that seek to promote positive employment outcomes for people with disabilities by encouraging employers and others to recognize the value and talent they bring to the workplace, as well as the dividend to be realized by fully including people with disabilities at work. These partners include:
• American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)
• National Business and Disability Council (NBDC)
• National Council of La Raza (NCLR)
• National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC)
• Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
• Special Olympics (SO)
• U.S. Business Leadership Network (USBLN)
The Campaign is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP); receives technical assistance from the Job Accommodation Network (JAN); and is supported by the Disability Policy Research Center at West Virginia University.
Tracie Saab is the Project Manager for the Campaign for Disability Employment, funded by the Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor. She works to establish collaborative partnerships among disability and business organizations to promote positive employment outcomes for people with disabilities. Before managing the Campaign, Tracie served for many years as a Job Accommodation Network (JAN) consultant and national speaker on accommodation and disability employment issues.
Posted by Diana Z. on Apr 7, 2010 12:11:50 PM in Employment | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Divorce Dilemma: Texas Says Gays Can't Get Divorce

2010-05-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

By JAMIE STENGLE
Associated Press Writer
DALLAS (AP) _ After the joy of a wedding and the adoption of a baby came arguments that couldn't be resolved, leading Angelique Naylor to file for divorce.
That left her fighting both the woman she married in Massachusetts and the state of Texas, which says a union granted in a U.S. state where same-sex marriage is legal can't be dissolved with a divorce in a state where it's not.
A judge in Austin granted the divorce, but Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is appealing the decision. He also is appealing a divorce granted to a gay couple in Dallas, saying protecting the ``traditional definition of marriage'' means doing the same for divorce.
A state appeals court is scheduled to hear arguments in the Dallas case on Wednesday.
The Dallas men, who declined to be interviewed for this story and are known only as J.B. and H.B. in court filings, had an amicable separation, with no disputes on separation of property and no children involved, said attorney Peter Schulte, who represents J.B. The couple, who married in 2006 in Massachusetts and separated two years later, simply want an official divorce, Schulte said.
The drawn-out process has been frustrating for Naylor, who says she didn't file for divorce as an equal rights statement _ she just wants to get on with her life.
``We didn't ask for a marriage; we simply asked for the courtesy of divorce,'' said Naylor, 39, of Austin, who married Sabina Daly in Massachusetts in 2004.
That year, Massachusetts became the first state to let same-sex couples tie the knot. Now, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia also allow them.
Gay and lesbian couples who turn to the courts when they break up are getting mixed results across the nation. A Pennsylvania judge last month refused to divorce two women who married in Massachusetts, while New York grants such divorces even though the state doesn't allow same-sex marriage.
``The bottom line is that same-sex couples have families and their families have the same needs and problems, but often don't have the same rights,'' said Jennifer Pizer, a lawyer for Lambda Legal, a national legal organization that promotes equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
``It really is an unenviable position that the courts have put these couples in,'' said Karen Loewy, an attorney at the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders.
Abbott, a Republican seeking re-election, declined to be interviewed for this story. He has argued in court filings that because the state doesn't recognize gay marriage there can be no divorce, but a gay or lesbian Texas couple may have a marriage voided. Attorneys representing such couples argue that voiding a marriage here could leave it intact in other states, creating problems for property divisions and other issues.
``OK, you're recommending voidance, but how does that work?'' asked Jennifer Cochran, Naylor's attorney. ``Is it only void in Texas and can you void a marriage that's valid in another state? The attorney general I feel didn't answer those questions.''
In 2005, Texas voters passed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage by a 3-to-1 margin even though state law already prohibited it. Abbott has said he is appealing the Dallas divorce ruling for two men to ``defend the traditional definition of marriage that was approved by Texas voters.''
Abbott disagrees with the judge in that case, who ruled in October that the same-sex marriage ban violates equal rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel for the conservative Liberty Institute in Plano, called that decision ``outrageous judicial activism.'' The institute has filed a friend of the court brief to the appeals court on behalf of the two Republican state lawmakers who co-sponsored the amendment banning gay marriage: state Rep. Warren Chisum and former state Sen. Todd Staples.
``It's a backdoor run at establishing same-sex so-called marriage against the people's vote,'' Shackelford said. ``Once you grant the divorce, you are recognizing that there was a marriage.''
Dallas divorce attorney Tom Greenwald said he's advising gay couples to wait and see how things play out in the courts.
``Getting the court of appeals to even accept the issue is a step in the right direction in getting some clarity on this,'' he said. ``We just don't know how to treat it.''
As for Naylor and Daly _ the latter declined to comment _ they've been trying to figure out what to do since separating in 2007 amid escalating arguments.
The couple, who had real estate-related businesses and renovated homes, toyed with the idea of one of them moving to a state where gay marriage is legal until a divorce is finalized, but that didn't seem practical.
Naylor said that eventually, she and Daly worked out a custody arrangement for their now 4 1/2-year-old son. Naylor said that when she heard about the Dallas divorce, she thought it was worth a try and filed for her own, even though several attorneys she spoke with weren't so sure.
``They said it's too up in the air, wait and see for appeals,'' Naylor said. ``I didn't have a lot of time to wait and see.''

Impact of Health Care Reform on People with Disabilities

2010-05-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

Find out how recently enacted healthcare and insurance reforms affects people with disabilities.
United Spinal Association and NSCIA’s public policy collaboration has prepared an analysis of how the new law interfaces with disability. We highlight improvements and discuss problems that still exist. Read on to become an instant expert.

James Weisman
United Spinal Association, General Counsel
The disability community has worked together tirelessly for more than a year to achieve health care reform. After health care reform nearly died several times, Congress revived it and it became law in March 20101.
From any perspective, the final legislation is not perfect, but it will bring important improvements in health care coverage for people with spinal cord injuries and disorders and people with disabilities in general. The insurance market reforms alone are clearly beneficial. Once the permanent provisions go into effect, no longer will health insurers be able to deny coverage, charge outrageous premiums, offer less coverage to people with pre-existing conditions or impose annual or lifetime caps on benefits. In addition, the bill enacts several provisions that encourage home and community based services so that people with disabilities do not have to choose between living at home and getting the services they need.
As of 2014, when many permanent provisions go into effect, states must have health insurance exchanges (or alternatives) through which people and some employers may purchase health insurance. In addition, most people will be required to have health insurance unless they are eligible for health care through government programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Department of Veterans Affairs and military service. Multistate plans are allowed but individual states can require additional benefits to be covered by health insurance in their states. There will be refundable tax credits for some people based on income and tax credits for some small
businesses that provide health insurance to their employees.
Summarized below are major final health care reform provisions that particularly impact people with disabilities. This list is by no means exhaustive. The final legislation not only reforms health insurance but also addresses many health care issues including prevention and wellness and improving the health care workforce.
With enactment of the law, reform is only beginning. The disability community must stay involved and present as implementing regulations are drafted, proposed, promulgated, and implemented. For the foreseeable future, we will need to be vigilant in making our voices heard with regard to the countless rules and regulations to be issued, advisory boards and commissions to be established, and many other steps to be taken to implement health care reform.
This summary was prepared by Peggy Hathaway, Vice-President for Public Policy, and Andrew Morris, Director of Legislation, for Spinal Cord Advocates, a public policy collaborative of United Spinal Association and the National Spinal Cord Injury Association, and Barbara L. Kornblau, JD, OTR, Dean, University of Michigan - Flint, School of Health Professions and Studies, on behalf of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD).
Insurance Market Reforms
Generally, health care reform legislation includes many provisions that make private market health insurance far more available and affordable to people with disabilities and other chronic conditions.
No Discrimination Based on Pre-Existing Conditions
As of 2014 health insurers will no longer be able to discriminate against people due to disabilities or other pre-existing conditions. Health insurers will no longer be allowed to deny coverage, charge higher premiums, exclude benefits relating to pre-existing conditions, rescind coverage after someone is injured or acquires a new condition, or impose annual caps on benefits. Most of these provisions go into effect for children in September 2010.
Lifetime and Annual Benefits Caps
Lifetime caps on benefits are prohibited immediately. This will end the common insurance practice of imposing lifetime caps such as $1 million. Between now and 2014, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) may restrict annual caps on benefits. As of 2014, both lifetime and annual caps on benefits are prohibited.
Temporary High-Risk Pools
Between now and 2014, many people with pre-existing conditions are eligible to purchase coverage through high risk pools. Unfortunately, to be eligible to purchase this insurance, people must have been without any health coverage whatsoever for at least six months. Also, the insurance could be unaffordable for many people. Premiums are subject to restrictions, but even so, the law allows insurers to charge older people four times as much as younger people. Limits on out-of-pocket expenses must be consistent with high-deductible health savings account plans—currently $5,950 for an individual and $11,900 for a family.
It is currently uncertain when the temporary high risk pools will become available or where people will apply for insurance in these pools. If a state does not offer the required insurance, HHS will either help establish a pool in that state or residents of that state will be eligible for a national high risk pool. This decision-making process is now underway.
Mandatory Health Plan Coverage Provisions
Essential Benefits
For most health insurance plans (including plans offered in the exchanges and individual and small group plans but excluding grand-fathered individual and employer-sponsored plans) the law mandates coverage of at least the following essential benefits: ambulatory patient services, emergency services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance use disorder services (including behavioral health treatment), prescription drugs, rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices, laboratory services, preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management, and pediatric services including oral and vision care.
HHS has the authority to further define essential benefits consistent with these required elements and is expected to do so. If HHS adds essential benefits, the law requires HHS to take into account the health care needs of people with disabilities and other diverse groups. We will continue to make our voices heard as HHS goes through the process of defining essential benefits.
For people with disabilities, it is a substantial improvement that rehabilitation and habilitation services are essential services. Many people with disabilities depend on them (e.g. to maintain muscle bulk and minimize spasticity) but pre-health care reform insurance policies did not cover them or severely limited the number of treatments.
As we understand it, the term “devices” is meant to include all durable medical equipment (including wheelchairs), prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS). This provision would be stronger if it made this point more explicitly. Because DMEPOS are critically important to many people with disabilities, we are advocating that anticipated HHS regulations defining essential benefits will explicitly provide that all DMEPOS are included in the meaning of “devices” as essential medical benefits.
It is important that mental health and substance abuse services are included as essential benefits.
Limits on Cost Sharing
The amount that people will have to pay out-of-pocket cannot be greater than the limits for health savings accounts. Small group market plans are prohibited from deductibles greater than $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for families. These maximums may increase only in accordance with increases in average per person health insurance premiums.
Home & Community-Based Services
Health care reform has enacted or enhanced several provisions to expand home and community based services to help make it easier for people with disabilities and chronic conditions to live at home and participate in their communities, rather than having to live in a nursing home or other institution in order to receive needed services. No one should have to choose between living at home and receiving the services they need.
Community Living Assistance Services and Supports -CLASS
The CLASS provisions establish a national voluntary, insurance program whereby people with functional limitations receive benefits of not less than an average of $50 per day to pay for services and supports of their choice that help them with activities of daily living. To qualify, people will have had to pay premiums, by means of a voluntary payroll deduction plan, for at least five years. These services can enable them to remain independent, employed and participate in their communities. Unlike Medicaid, CLASS does not require people to be impoverished to qualify for this program. HHS is required to develop an actuarially sound benefit plan so that the program is self-sustaining.
Community First Choice Option
Creates the Community First Choice Option. This allows state Medicaid plans to choose home and community-based services and supports as the rule, rather than the exception, for Medicaid-eligible individuals with disabilities with incomes up to 150% of the Federal Poverty Level, who would otherwise require institutional care. To encourage states to choose this option, states that opt in will receive an additional six percent to the federal government’s share of Medicaid costs (referred to as the Federal Matching Assistance Percentage or FMAP) for five years. Effective October 1, 2011.
Money Follows the Person
Extends the popular Money Follows the Person demonstration grants until September 2016. These grants help state Medicaid programs defray the cost of moving eligible Medicaid recipients who have resided in an in-patient facility for a minimum number of consecutive days into community-based settings for eligible Medicaid recipients.
Home and Community Based Services in Medicaid
Makes it easier for state Medicaid programs to offer home and community based services by allowing states to do so by amending their state plan, rather than having to apply for a Medicaid waiver, which can be a lengthy process.
ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT CHANGES
Substantial Expansion of People Eligible for Medicaid
Health care reform substantially increases the number of people who are eligible for Medicaid. Since many people with disabilities have low or very modest incomes, this Medicaid expansion will give many more people with disabilities the right to health care coverage
As of 2014, health care reform expands Medicaid to cover non-elderly, childless adults for the first time and adults with incomes up to 133% of the Federal Poverty Level. It also expands Medicaid to cover children in families with incomes up to 133% of the Federal Poverty level, and it extends Early, Periodic, Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) mandates to all children on Medicaid including those in managed care. EPSDT services address developmental disabilities and delays. States will receive an increased Federal matching share for the first few years. In 2009, 133% of the Federal Poverty Level for individuals was $14,404 and for families of four was $29,327.
Between now and 2014, states have the option of extending Medicaid coverage to these groups.
In addition, states are required to maintain their current services under Medicaid and have incentives to cover preventive services and immunizations without cost-sharing to adults under Medicaid.
Note regarding Medicare 2-year waiting period. Under existing law, people found eligible to receive disability benefits under Social Security’s SSDI and other Title II programs must wait two years before they can receive Medicare benefits. In the meantime, many people with disabilities go without needed health care, which often causes dire consequences, including exacerbation of existing conditions and death.
While health care reform does not directly address this problem, it mitigates it for some people in the two-year waiting period. They may be able to obtain health coverage through the temporary high risk pool or through the health insurance exchanges once they go into effect (which cannot discriminate on the basis of pre-existing conditions) or they may qualify for Medicaid under its extended eligibility standards.
Medicare Part D Donut Hole Gap in Prescription Drug Coverage
Phases out the famous “donut hole” in prescription drug coverage under Medicare by
2020. Currently, when Medicare enrollees are in the donut hole (after they reach a certain
limit on prescription drug coverage and before additional coverage kicks in), they must
pay for prescription drugs at full price.
Provides a one-time $250 rebate for prescription drugs after enrollees enter the donut
hole in 2010. Beginning January 1, 2011, it provides a 50 percent discount on brand name
drugs and other discounts for generic drugs for enrollees in the donut hole.
Substantial Increased Funding for Community Health Centers
Provides an additional $11 billion of funding from the Public Health Trust fund for
Community Health Centers located across all 50 states and territories (over 1200
facilities). Community Health Centers are major providers of health care to people who
are uninsured or are underinsured
Medicare Outpatient Therapy Caps
Health care reform extends until December 31, 2010 some exceptions to caps on
Medicare Outpatient Part B Therapy Services, thus allowing Medicare enrollees to get
medically necessary therapy services beyond the $1,860 cap for occupational therapy,
and $1,860 cap for physical therapy and speech-language pathology services.
Accessible Medical Diagnostic Equipment
Requires the U.S. Access Board, in consultation with the Food and Drug Administration,
to establish regulatory standards setting the minimum technical criteria for medical
diagnostic equipment for people with disabilities. While existing law requires medical
equipment to be accessible, these standards are intended to clarify how to comply with
this requirement.
These standards, to be completed in two years, will clarify minimum technical criteria for
medical equipment in doctors’ offices and other medical facilities to be considered
accessible for people with disabilities including people who use wheelchairs. The
standards shall ensure the equipment is accessible to, and usable by, individuals with
accessibility needs, and shall allow independent entry to, use of, and exit from the
equipment by such individuals to the maximum extent possible. At a minimum medical
diagnostic equipment covered by the new standards will include: examination tables,
examination chairs (including chairs used for eye examinations or procedures, and dental
examinations or procedures), weight scales, mammography equipment, x-ray machines,
and other radiological equipment commonly used for diagnostic purposes by health
professionals.
Elimination of Medicare First-Month Purchase Option for Power Wheelchairs
Under existing law, Medicare beneficiaries have the option to purchase their power wheelchairs, rather than rent them. This enables the person with long-term need of a wheelchair to have it adjusted to his or her size and unique needs. Under health care reform, Medicare will only pay for rental, rather than purchase, of certain power wheelchairs for the first thirteen months of use (with exceptions for certain classes of complex rehab power wheelchairs). During the 13-month rental period Medicare will pay 80 percent and the beneficiary will pay 20 percent of the rental cost.
We are concerned because wheelchairs, like people, are not fungible. They require many adjustments to meet the individual user’s size and needs. With purchased wheelchairs, suppliers are likely to bear the cost of individualization, but they are not likely to do so for a rental that can be so easily returned. Without individualization, users frequently suffer exacerbated or secondary conditions that require treatment and often hospitalization, thus offsetting any cost savings to Medicare.
Durable Medical Equipment Excise Tax
A new excise tax ($20 billion over 10 years) on medical devices will be imposed on manufacturers of medical equipment. It is intended to help offset the costs of health reform. Although the tax is imposed on manufacturers, the consumer will ultimately bear the cost because manufacturers are likely to pass these costs on to consumers through increased prices.
Medicare Durable Medical Equipment Competitive Bidding Program
Existing law requires HHS to implement a competitive bidding program for suppliers of wheelchairs and other durable medical equipment, under Medicare, as a cost-savings measure. Wherever competitive bidding goes into effect, Medicare will only pay suppliers selected by HHS. It is likely that there will be far fewer suppliers to choose from for both purchase and repairs of wheelchairs and other durable medical equipment and that the quality of products and repairs may go down. People who use wheelchairs may well have to give up their existing suppliers and find it difficult to get to the new suppliers for repairs.
Health care reform speeds up the pace of expanding competitive bidding to additional Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas and requires coverage of all areas by 2016.
Medicare Coverage of Annual Wellness Visit Providing a Personalized Prevention Plan
Provides Medicare Part B coverage, with no co-payment or deductible, for personalized prevention plan services. Personalized prevention plan services means the creation of a plan for an individual that includes a health risk assessment and may include other elements, such as updating family history, listing providers that regularly provide medical care to the individuals, body-mass index measurement, and other screenings and risk factors.
Comparative Effectiveness Research
Creates a federal coordinating council for comparative effectiveness that will be responsible for the annual funding of research to compare the effectiveness of various treatments on specific conditions. Comparative effectiveness research compares available treatments to see which works best based on research findings.
The law also creates a patient-centered outcomes research institute responsible for the development of national comparative effectiveness research priorities and the conduct of clinical outcomes research. Research must take into account the potential for differences in the effectiveness of health care treatments, services, and items as used with various sub-populations, and quality of life preferences.
Training of Future Health Practitioners
Requires that medical professionals receive disability awareness training to help reduce the health disparities that exist for people with disabilities. Grants and other incentives are available to develop programs and model curricula to train health professionals and increase the number of health professionals (including dentists) trained to meet the health care needs of individuals with disabilities.
Nondiscrimination
Except as provided elsewhere in the law, prohibits discrimination based on disability under any health program or activity which receives federal assistance, including credits, subsidies, or contracts of insurance, or under any program or activity that is administered by an Executive Agency or any entity established under this title (or amendments) and provides Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act as the enforcement mechanism for violations. The Secretary of HHS may promulgate regulations to implement this.
Comprehensive Workplace Wellness Programs
Authorizes an appropriation for grants to eligible small businesses for the purpose of giving their employees access to comprehensive workplace wellness programs that meet criteria to be developed by HHS. Employee wellness programs can be a good way to encourage better health. However, this provision could inadvertently have a negative impact on people with disabilities. For example, a person with a disability may be unable to participate in an exercise program or another benchmark of the wellness program. If employees who do participate receive a reduced deductible under the employer- sponsored health plan (or another financial incentive), the person with a disability who is unable to participate would end up paying a higher deductible (or would not be eligible for other financial incentive). To avoid inadvertent negative impacts on people with disabilities and chronic conditions, it will be important to work with HHS in designing the programs.
Coverage of Anti-seizure, Anti-spasm, and Smoking Cessation Medications
Mandates coverage of barbiturates, benzodiazepines, and tobacco cessation agents under Medicare Part D. Barbiturates include phenobarbital and other medications that treat seizures. Benzodiazepines include sedatives, anti-anxiety medications, and anti-spasm medications. Both of these categories of medications were previously specifically excluded from coverage under Medicare Part D.
Data Collection and Analysis to Understand and Address Health Disparities
Requires the federal government to collect health survey data from people with disabilities to enable better understanding of the health of people with disabilities compared to other minority groups.
Also requires the government to collect survey data from health care providers in order to learn where people with disabilities receive their care, the number of providers with accessible facilities and equipment, and the number of health care professionals trained in meeting the health care needs of patients with disabilities.
Requires the development of recommendations for quality measures to improve the quality of health care for individuals with disabilities.

1 The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (HR 3590, Public Law 111-148, signed into law 3/23/10) as modified by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (HR 4872, Public Law 111-152, signed into law 3/30/10).

Experts Re-Examine Audio From Kent State Shootings

2010-05-19T12:34:00.000-07:00

Were the Troops at Kent State Ordered To Fire? What do YOU THINK?

CLEVELAND (AP) _ A new analysis of a 40-year-old audio recording reveals that someone ordered National Guard troops to prepare to fire on students during a deadly Vietnam War protest at Kent State University in 1970, two forensics experts said.
The recording was enhanced and evaluated by New Jersey-based audio experts Stuart Allen and Tom Owen at the request of The Plain Dealer newspaper. Both concluded that they hear someone shout, ``Guard!'' Seconds later, a voice yells, ``All right, prepare to fire!''
``Get down!'' someone shouts, presumably in the crowd. A voice then says, ``Guard!...'' followed two seconds later by a booming volley of gunshots.
Four Kent State students were killed and nine were wounded.
``I think this is a major development,'' said Alan Canfora, who was shot and wounded in the right wrist during the protest on May 4, 1970. Canfora, who has long believed that the troops were ordered to fire, located a copy of the tape in a library archive in 2007 and has urged that it be professionally reviewed.
The original reel-to-reel audio recording was made by Terry Strubbe, a student who placed a microphone in a window sill of his dormitory that overlooked the anti-war rally.
Allen, president and chief engineer of the Legal Services Group in Plainfield, New Jersey, removed extraneous noises _ wind blowing across the microphone, for example _ that obscured voices on the recording.
Without a voice sample for comparison, the new analysis can't determine who might have issued such a command or why.
Most of the senior Ohio National Guard officers directly in charge of the troops have died.
Ronald Snyder, a former Guard captain who led a unit that was at the Kent State protest but was not involved in the shootings, said the prepare-to-fire phrasing does not seem consistent with how military orders are given.
The FBI investigated whether an order had been given to fire and said it could only speculate. One theory was that a guardsman panicked or fired intentionally at a student and others fired when they heard the shot.
In 1974, eight guardsmen tried on federal civil rights charges were acquitted by a U.S. judge. The surviving victims and families of the dead settled a civil lawsuit for $675,000 in 1979, agreeing to drop all future claims against the Guardsmen.
The significance of the new audio analysis may be more historical than legal, said Sanford Rosen, one of plaintiffs' attorneys in the civil lawsuit.

Why Most Job Searches Fail and How to Prevent It

2009-08-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

Why Most Job Searches Fail and How to Prevent It

What do YOU think? Why or Why Not Do YOU think you succeeded or failed at your last job search?

What constitutes a failed job search? Specifically it's a job search that was prematurely ended or did not end up resulting in the goals that you originally set for yourself. This is the same as letting discouragement and disillusionment lead us to settle for much, much less than we deserve and are capable of. In order to uncover exactly why this happens, it's important to understand how a job search is often unintentionally set up for failure.

To paint a picture of a typical scenario goes something like this:

You start out with a lot of excitement and a dreamy abundance of possibilities for your next career move. With a hearty enthusiasm you dive into activities such as updating your resume, searching job boards and perhaps talking confidentially to a couple of trusted friends. In the days to follow perhaps you contact a recruiter source that you know of or that may have been referred to you, connect with one or two industry peers and maybe answer a few on line job postings.

Then the following week you continue to answer several more job ads online.

Week three finds you with a certain apprehension about the lack of response you have received so far. You double check your resume for typo's and check to make sure your phone line is working.

And because these efforts above rarely produce any significant results, week four finds you feeling a range of negative emotions and the downward spiral really begins.

And since we are on the subject here are some underlying issues associated with job search failure:

Fear of the unknown and that you don't know *how* to do something

Waiting to do something or suspending action until you are ready because you want it to be *perfect* Over thinking your actions and others reactions to you

And finally, fear of actually reaching your goals (fear of success)

Combined, negative thoughts and feelings mixed with a poorly executed job search strategy is a true recipe for failure.

So, here are three tips you can use to avoid job search failure:

Tip One: Your Personal Plan

Your successful job search truly begins with a simple yet very clear plan. You need to know where you are going and you need to know specifically what your ultimate goal is. Then you need to commit to moving forward. Not taking action simply leads no where, while those who are focused, positive and committed to taking action succeed.

Tip Two: Have the Best Tools

These are the tools that you invest in that will help and support you in your job search efforts. They include (a combination of) but are not limited to: recruiters, the right job boards, networking, associations and trade journal research and involvement, social networking sites and capitalizing on your companies of choice as well as companies in growth mode. Growth mode companies can be a really critical component to your success because 80% of key positions are filled before they are ever advertised.

Tip Three: Create Your Courageous Goal

This is your personal weekly goal for the actions and activities you want to complete and the time you want to complete them in. You want your goals to be "courageous", meaning they will stretch you to achieve goals just a little bit out of your comfort zone. You also want your goals to be simple, crystal clear and motivating. This will create consistency in your activity which will bring you an abundance of positive job search results!

Pioneering a results oriented and successful job search is a combination of timing, common sense strategies and the right resources. Knowing how to avoid traps that lead to a failed job search will put you on the right path to achievement of your career goals.

by Mary Elizabeth Bradford - Career marketing expert and nationally certified professional resume writer, Mary Elizabeth Bradford is "The Career Artisan". Mary Elizabeth delivers simple ways for career seekers to focus on, find and land the job they want. For free articles and to sign up for her free tele-seminar "5 simple steps to focus on, find and land your dream job - starting today" visit http://www.maryelizabethbradford.com

Get a Job in 5 Minutes!

2009-07-10T13:26:00.000-07:00

Get a Job in 5 Minutes

by James E. Challenger -James E. Challenger, president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., is in his fourth decade of job search counseling after pioneering outplacement as an employer-paid benefit. He has authored three books, including Secrets of the Job Hunt and his most recent Job-Hunting Success for Mid-Career Professionals.

James E. Challenger is right "on the money"! Read on! What do you think?

The first five minutes of any job interview are critical in the selection process!

For candidates seeking employment at a job fair, an initial interview with a company may last only five minutes. A job seeker has to be qualified in order to get the job but there will always be several other people who are equally qualified as far as the interviewer is concerned.

In the end, you will be hired because the interviewer personally likes you the best, not necessarily because you are the most qualified in the field of candidates. And many interviewers, especially in a job fair situation, will know whether or not he or she likes you the best within the first five minutes!

First impressions are vital, knowing that the interviewer will be speaking with several candidates within a short period of time. If you do not make a good impression immediately, the chances are that you will not be able to recover, however excellent your qualifications are for the job. It is a sobering thought to the average job seeker.

It means that you have little margin for error in presenting yourself. If you do make a mistake or present yourself in an unfavorable manner in the interviewer's opinion, you have erased your likability factor.

If you wish to sell any product successfully, it is necessary to know all you can about the product. In respect to the job search, the selling is done at the job interview and the product you must know so thoroughly is yourself. To maximize your chances of having a successful interview, you should keep the following points in mind:

1. Look the interviewer directly in the eyes and smile when you meet, with a firm, but not hard, handshake. You may be surprised how important those initial gestures are to the interviewer's impression of you.

If you avert your gaze, you may give the interviewer the impression of being shifty or unsure of yourself. If you give the person a "wet fish" handshake instead of a solid one, the impression may be that you are timid and ineffectual. If you crush the interviewer's hand, the pain will dim your luster.

Smiling sounds simple but is one of the most important rules of the interview. It sets the tone for the entire session, projecting you as a pleasant person. Make it a point to look at the interviewer directly when you are answering his or her questions.

2. Body language is also important. Do not fidget. Assume a comfortable posture from the outset and avoid shifting your position or crossing and re-crossing your legs. If you do, it may give the interviewer a message that you are uneasy or nervous, it can be translated into the perception you are trying to conceal something that you do not want the employer to know.

3. Know your resume thoroughly and be ready to elaborate on any point contained in it. Resumes do not get jobs; interviews do but you have to be in mental command of all of your important accomplishments.

You cannot take the chance of trying to ad-lib an unprepared answer to a pivotal interview request such as, "Tell me about yourself." Interviewers are after specific information about job candidates, not generalities. That is why you should commit your major accomplishments to memory before going into any interview.

4. Always try to be "up" psychologically for the interview. That is often the most difficult thing to do, especially if you have been job hunting for some period of time, but it is very important for the success of the interview.

If you appear downcast or depressed, or are unresponsive to the interviewer's questions or listless in your approach, you will rule yourself out of consideration for that job. Interviewers want enthusiastic, happy people who show a strong interest in the job. If you do not, another candidate most assuredly will.

5. You must do everything you can within moral bounds to get a job offer, and then evaluate it. Do not be overly concerned about what the job is in the beginning. Get the offer and then decide if you want it! You should listen for clues as to what the interviewer wants and try to be the person he or she wants you to be, within the scope of your own skills, desires and talents.

Anticipate the interviewer's questions as much as possible and be ready with all of your homework done. Then let the interviewer pick and choose what is to be discussed in the interview.

6. Bear in mind that your potential employer is operating within a limited amount of time, and will talk about what is important to him or her.

Therefore, you should be non-directive: allow the interviewer to choose exactly what he or she wants to talk about. Most interviews last 20 to 30 minutes at the maximum, so that is no time for you to interject with an agenda of your own or discuss points that you think should be covered. Doing that is an invitation to an early exit.

7. Be relaxed: it relaxes the interviewer. Focus all of your attention on the employer. You want him or her to feel witty, charming, urbane. Why? Because it makes the person feel good and the better the individual feels in your presence, the more likely you are to be making a favorable impression.

8. Respond to the interviewer's hospitality; accept anything that is offered. Even if you do not drink coffee, if the interviewer offers it, take a sip or two and then just leave the cup. Let that person be the host and you be the gracious guest.

9. Dress appropriately: conservative business suits, shirts and ties for men; suits or conservative dresses for women. Avoid any excesses such as long hair, heavy jewelry or earrings for men, flashy dresses or excessive makeup for women.

If you handle all of these matters well, you should make a favorable impression on the interviewer - but do not forget to ask for the "order" before you leave.

By James E. Challenger -James E. Challenger, president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., is in his fourth decade of job search counseling after pioneering outplacement as an employer-paid benefit. He has authored three books, including Secrets of the Job Hunt and his most recent Job-Hunting Success for Mid-Career Professionals.

The Right Way To Terminate Employees

2009-06-16T11:02:00.000-07:00

It's NEVER fun to be terminated, it's NEVER fun to be the employer who has to terminate the employee either, but it is important to remember to be sensitive and keep things legal. Read on! TrainingSys.com has it right!

What do you think?

How to Terminate Employees Smartly

from October 2001 Recruiting, Inspiring & Retaining E-zine
Courtesy of http://www.trainingsys.com

• Work out all the details of any severance package before the termination meeting. You may want to ask the employee to sign a severance agreement with a litigation waiver if you are providing assistance above and beyond what laid off employees typically receive. (For employees 40 and older, make sure the agreement includes conditions and language consistent with the older Worker Benefit Protection Act.)

• Have a plan for retrieving any money or equipment the employee needs to return.

• Be prepared to answer the employee's questions about departure, references, unemployment, COBRA, and any assistance in finding another job.

• Strongly consider providing some outplacement assistance. This often redirects any employee anger into constructive efforts.

• Carefully craft your opening statement, clearly communicating that the employee is being terminated and why. While showing compassion, convey that all relevant managers agree with the decision, that all factors have been weighed, and that the decision is final--not open to discussion or negotiation. You may want to rehearse this statement or write it out.

• Cite reasons for the dismissal briefly and factually. don't make value judgments or attempt to analyze.

• Don't apologize, and don't take responsibility for the failure. You may want to just express regret that the opportunity did not work out.

• Don't talk about "how difficult this is for me." You still have a job, and the employee may resent your indulging in your discomfort.

• Have documentation of transgressions or poor evaluations on hand, but don't use them unless necessary. Make sure that the documentation is 100 percent accurate so you aren't compromised in any future legal proceedings.

• Aim for a 5- to 10-minute meeting. Maintain control of the session and don't stray from the central issue. If the employee gets argumentative, keep your responses measured and factual.

• Hold the meeting in a private area. If no neutral area is available or appropriate, the supervisor's office is fine.

• The ideal number of people representing the firm is usually two. (You want a witness, and you don't want someone to be alone with an employee who could get combative.) The person who evaluated the employee should participate, and the other representative might be from human resources.

• Arrange for the employee to remove personal effects in private.

• Terminate employees before Friday. Most experts prefer this timing because you're not ruining someone's weekend; the employee can immediately consult with a counselor, attorney, or other helpful professional; and fellow employees aren't building questions or anger over an entire weekend.

• Terminate employees at the end of the day. Letting someone go earlier can imply severe wrongdoing and "defame by innuendo."

• Try to avoid terminating employees around holidays or birthdays.

• Determine what will be said to remaining employees. The best route is usually to be quite general ("It just didn't work out") while avoiding dishonesty.

• Offer a delayed telephone exit interview, if appropriate, to demonstrate respect for the employee's observations and ideas.

• Try to end the termination meeting on an upbeat note, such as your organization's willingness to provide transition tools to the employee.

• Document the termination conference.

• If you need to terminate some employees and layoff others, try to do the terminating first. If you let everyone go at the same time, the laid off employees may blame their departures on failure to get rid of the poor performers.

Talking pains to terminate employees sensitively is the humane thing to do, and it is good business. You want a reputation for fairness and compassion throughout your industry and community, and you want to minimize any risk of litigation or charges of discrimination within your organization.

Remember that employers with 100 or more employees are covered by WARN--the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act. Effected nationally in February 1989, the act required employers to provide at least 60 days notice of plant closings and mass layoffs.

NOOSE in the NEWS!!!!!!

2009-06-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

WHAT?

It's TRUE! Can U believe this still happens? SHAME ON Crom Companies!

FLORIDA CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES SUED FOR RACIAL HARASSMENT, THREATENING BLACK WORKER WITH NOOSE

EEOC Says Crom Companies Subjected African Americans to Racial Insults, Physical Abuse
MIAMI – The Crom Corporation and Crom Equipment Rentals violated federal law when they allowed the racial harassment of black employees, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today. The EEOC also says the Florida-based construction companies unlawfully suspended an African American employee for complaining about severe racial insults, threats and physical abuse.

According to the suit, a white employee at Crom’s Holly Hill, Fla., location locked a black coworker in a tool shed and then spray-painted the shed door with the word “Jail.” The EEOC said that the same white employee also put a hangman’s noose around the black employee’s neck, hung the noose in his work area, and threatened to decapitate him. Another African American employee was offended when he saw the noose hanging at the Holly Hill site. Crom was aware of the harassment but didn’t stop it, according to the suit. Instead, the EEOC said, Crom suspended the black worker after he complained about the noose and rewarded the white offender with a higher-paying position.

“It is shocking and sobering that such cruelty can still occur at an American workplace,” said EEOC Acting Chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru. “The EEOC will not falter in its quest to put an end to such injustice.”
Racial harassment violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida (EEOC v. The Crom Corporation, Case No. 1:09-cv-00128-SPM-AK) after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement.

EEOC Miami District Director Jacqueline McNair said, “Even in 2009, nooses still make their way into work environments. The EEOC will vigorously prosecute cases with this sort of workplace terror.”

EEOC Miami Regional Attorney Nora E. Curtin, added, “The nightmarish abuse endured in this case is appalling. The hangman's noose is a haunting symbol of racial hatred and must never be tolerated. Employers must take swift and meaningful action to punish those responsible for such outrageous conduct.”

Crom Corporation and Crom Equipment Rentals sell concrete water tanks and scaffolding and operate throughout Florida and in at least nine other states.
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.

Would YOU hire you?

2009-06-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

Darlene McDaniel hits the nail right on the point! Think about it; if you wouldn't hire YOU, why would you expect someone else to?!!!!!

Would You Hire You?

May 31, 2009 by Darlene McDaniel
courtesy of www.bizzia.com

So many of you are out there in the market competing for jobs. Prior to the unemployment rate increasing, HR departments were very good at communicating rejection to job seekers.

If you applied, received an interview, typically you received a phone call or letter to let you know the status of your application. Today, not so. Many job seekers interview for a job, and then go home and wait by the phone. Unfortunately, the waiting may seem eternal when you don’t hear back from the organization one way or theno other. So my suggestion is to prepare for rejection. It is inevitable if you are seriously pursuing job opportunities. Here are three ways to help you prepare for rejection.

First, as you work your job search strategy, plan for “no”. In a perfect world, you would get a job offer every time you meet with an organization, but that is unrealistic. You are not going to get a job offer every time. So plan for it. Prepare yourself mentally so that you don’t allow discouragement to creep in. Every “no” is an opportunity to make an adjustment and keep moving forward in your search.

Second, keep your pipeline full of potential job opportunities. Don’t allow yourself to put all your hope on one job. If you have an opportunity to interview for a great job that you believe was tailor made for you. Find another one. Give yourself options so that if the opportunity doesn’t work out, you still have other opportunities where you are competing.

My third recommendation for you as you handle rejection in your job search is to learn how to self correct. If you are not getting job offers and no one is willing to give you feedback, than you have to learn how to assess the interviews, get input on your resume/cover letter, make minor or major adjustments and stay in the game. Self correction takes the anger and frustration out of the rejection.

Look at your self with an objective eye and ask yourself of you would really hire you based on your responses, your resume, your experience, etc.? If you wouldn’t hire your self than why should anyone else?

Sodermeyer More Experienced Judge When Nominated to Supreme Court

2009-05-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

What do you think of Sonia Sotomayor as the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice? WOW!

Judge Sotomayor nominated to high Federal Court
First Hispanic nominated to Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama chose federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor as the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice on Tuesday, praising her as “an inspiring woman'' with both the intellect and compassion to interpret the Constitution wisely.

Obama said Sotomayor has more experience as a judge than any current member of the high court had when nominated, adding she has earned the “respect of colleagues on the bench, the admiration of many lawyers who argue cases in her court and the adoration of her clerks, who look to her as a mentor.''

Standing next to Obama at the White House, Sotomayor recalled a childhood spent in a housing project in the Bronx as well as her upper-echelon legal career: “I strive never to forget the real world consequences of my decisions on individuals, businesses and government.''

Barring the unexpected, Senate confirmation seems likely, given the large Democratic majority. If approved, she would join Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the second woman on the current court, the third in history. She would succeed retiring Justice David Souter.

Senate Republicans pledged to give her a fair hearing. Given her background, any decision to filibuster could carry political risks, since Hispanics are the fastest-growing segment of the population and an increasingly important one politically.

Sotomayor would be unlikely to alter the ideological balance of the court, since Souter generally sides with the liberals on key 5-4 rulings. But at 54, she is a generation younger that Souter, and liberal outside groups hope she will provide a counterpoint to some of the sharply worded conservative rulings.

Introducing his choice, Obama said, “Along the way, she's faced down barriers, overcome the odds and lived out the American dream that brought her parents here so long ago.''

The president called on the Senate to confirm Sotomayor before the court begins its new term in October, and noted pointedly that she has already won Senate approval twice in her career.

She was nominated a federal judge by a Republican, President George H.W. Bush, then elevated to the appeals court by a Democrat, Bill Clinton. Senate Republicans slow-walked her confirmation more than a decade ago, in part because she was viewed even then as a potential pick for the Supreme Court.

The White House announcement ceremony was a picture of diversity, the first black president, appointing the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice, joined by Vice President Joe Biden, who is white.

Sotomayor's nomination opens a new phase in the drive to replace Souter, as liberal and conservative groups alike scour the record she has compiled in 17 years on the federal bench.

In one of her most notable decisions, as an appellate judge she sided last year with the city of New Haven, Conn., in a discrimination case brought by white firefighters. The city threw out results of a promotion exam because too few minorities scored high enough. Coincidentally, that case is now before the Supreme Court.

That ruling has already drawn criticism from conservatives, and is likely to play a role in her confirmation hearing.

In one of her most memorable rulings as federal district judge, in 1995, Sotomayor ruled with Major League Baseball players over owners in a labor strike that had led to the cancellation of the World Series.

Obama referred to that in his remarks, then joked he hoped her support for the Yankees would not unduly influence New Englanders to oppose her in the Senate.

Among them is Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who said, “The American people will want the Senate to carry out its constitutional duty with conscientiousness and civility.''

The Senate Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, issued a statement that said: “Senate Republicans will treat Judge Sotomayor fairly. But we will thoroughly examine her record to ensure she understands that the role of a jurist in our democracy is to apply the law evenhandedly, despite their own feelings or personal or political preferences.''

In his remarks, Obama made no mention of his earlier statement that he wanted a justice with empathy, although his remark that compassion was needed came close.

Sotomayor grew up in New York after her parents moved from Puerto Rico. She has dealt with diabetes since age 8 and lost her father at age 9, growing up under the care of her mother in humble surroundings. As a girl, inspired by the Perry Mason television show, she knew she wanted to be a judge.

A graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School, a former prosecutor and private attorney, Sotomayor became a federal judge for the Southern District of New York in 1992. She became an appeals judge in 1998 for the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers New York, Vermont and Connecticut.

At her Senate confirmation hearing more than a decade ago, she said, “I don't believe we should bend the Constitution under any circumstance. It says what it says. We should do honor to it.''

Obama's nomination is the first by a Democratic president in 15 years.

One conservative group did not wait for the formal announcement. Wendy Long of the Judicial Confirmation Network, issued a statement calling Sotomayor a “liberal judicial activist of the first order who thinks her own personal political agenda is more important that the law as written.''

Abortion rights have been a flashpoint in several recent Supreme Court confirmations, although Sotomayor has not written any controversial rulings on the subject.

As a federal appeals court judge in 2002, she ruled against an abortion rights group that had challenged a government policy prohibiting foreign organizations receiving U.S. funds from performing or supporting abortions.

In her opinion, Sotomayor wrote that the government was free to favor the anti-abortion position over a pro-choice position when public funds were involved.

Sotomayor has spoken about her pride in her ethnic background and has said that personal experiences “affect the facts that judges choose to see.''

“I simply do not know exactly what the difference will be in my judging,'' she said in a speech in 2002. “But I accept there will be some based on my gender and my Latina heritage.''

From the moment Souter announced his resignation, it was widely assumed Obama would select a woman to replace him, and perhaps a Hispanic as well.

Obama came to office at a time when several potential vacancies loomed on the high court. Justice John Paul Stevens at is 89, and Ginsburg recently underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer.

By Ben Feller - Associated Press Writer

Advice: How to Get Feedback from an Interview

2009-05-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

Alina Dizik cuts right to the heart of the matter of how to find out if you actually interviewed well! And that is NO easy task! Read on! What do YOU think?

Advice: How to Get Feedback from an Interview
By Alina Dizik

Getting interview feedback from a recruiter can help build your interview skills, but it’s important to use the right approach when asking–so you don’t harm your chances of landing the job, says Bill McGowan, founder of Clarity Media Group, a New York-based training and communications firm. Mr. McGowan offers advice on how to gather feedback during the job search.

What should you keep in mind when asking for feedback?
Don’t ask for feedback in a way that makes you sound defensive or insecure. Rather than say, ‘I’m afraid I might have come across unsure of my credentials,’ try, ‘I hope I was successful in thoroughly and clearly establishing why my credentials make me a good fit for this position.’ Remind them that this feedback is something you welcome in an effort to evolve and improve your own abilities, since you put a premium on effective communication skills. Do not give them the impression that you’re asking for feedback just to create more work for them. Keep your request for feedback professional, focused on your experience, expertise, recommendations from others and your ability to effectively convey what makes you a good candidate and distinctive from the other applicants.

How do you approach getting feedback–what are some of the logistics?
An email the following day thanking them for their time is the best vehicle in which to request feedback. But don’t ask for feedback with a tone that assumes the feedback is going to be negative. So perhaps saying, ‘I know you have a number of candidates to consider, and each of us likes to think we performed well in the interview. But there’s tremendous value in receiving feedback from your objective viewpoint. Embracing feedback as an opportunity to learn is how I’ve managed to grow and improve my skills in all of my previous positions, so thank you in advance for sharing any observations you feel would be constructive.’ If you do not get the job, it might be useful to send a follow-up email asking if the position went to someone else based on experience, or was the interview the determining factor.

What should a job seeker not ask when requesting interview feedback?
Try not to ask for feedback in areas that would make employers feel uncomfortable. For example, don’t ask if they thought you were dressed inappropriately, or whether your age was a negative. If you have a strong speech impediment or accent, do not ask if that torpedoed your chances.

How does feedback from an interviewer help in the job search?
Three themes must come through in any job interview and you must ask the interviewer to give you feedback as to whether you were clear in making these points: How your specific previous experience has given you the skills and tools that would allow you to excel in the job you’re seeking, how your advance research of the prospective employer revealed a number of project areas that dovetail with what you’re professionally passionate about, and what makes you distinctive from the other candidates they’ve interviewed.

After what type of interview should you seek feedback?
Any type of job that requires client relations and the skills necessary for successfully interacting with people on a regular basis will make it all the more important that you perform well in a job interview: public relations, marketing or sales. Many people do not ask for feedback for fear they’re going to hear criticism. Improving job interviewing skills requires a thick skin and a determination to improve through critical self examination.

What should job hunters avoid?
Do not let your request for feedback stand alone. It should be couched in a broader thank you note–otherwise, it’s as if you’re giving the interviewer more work to do. Don’t approach the request from a standpoint of insecurity, like, ‘I’m afraid I might have come off as lacking confidence.’ Dont’ ask simplistically, ‘How did I do?’

Who else besides a recruiter can you ask for feedback?
Visiting a job interviewing coach can be a useful way to spar with a professional communications analyst in advance of your interview. Short of that, videotape yourself role-playing through a job interview with a family member or friend, and then examine the video with a mentor for constructive criticism. Even without a mentor, looking at yourself on tape is an amazing learning tool.

Readers, do you find feedback from past interviews are valuable learning tool? How have you obtained feedback from previous interviews?

You can comment here on this blog or at http://blogs.wsj.com/laidoff/2009/05/19/advice-how-to-get-feedback-from-an-interview/

'When Is It OK To Lie in a Job Interview?'

2009-04-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

'When Is It OK To Lie in a Job Interview'

courtesy of www.Glassdoor.com

Check out their Q & A on Job Interviews Cheats! This is GREAT STUFF!

What do YOU THINK?

Why do you want the position? What relevant skills do you possess? What's your biggest weakness?

You've probably been asked these questions many times in job interviews. But here are a few you probably haven't heard:

When is it OK to lie? What would you do with 100 Christmas trees in July? If you were a cereal, what kind would you be?

All of the above were asked in recent interviews in the U.S., and a new company aims to help prospective workers prepare for such bizarre questions, not to mention other aspects of difficult interviews.

Glassdoor.com is an online jobs site that launched this week, and one of its features is an area for interview reviews. Users submit their interview experience anonymously and in exchange they receive access to other people's stories.
So far nearly 2,000 job interviews have been reviewed and posted, from more than 1,000 companies.

The information includes general descriptions of the interview including whether it was one-on-one or a panel, unexpected or difficult questions, and whether the overall experience was positive or negative.

For example, one candidate for a position at a senior centre in Arizona warned others against the job, saying that not only did the company lose his application, an executive who scheduled an interview with him took that day off.
Glassdoor also lists salaries and reviews of jobs, and companies use the information for feedback.

So, wondering what companies asked the off-the-wall questions above?
The question about lying was asked of a project manager applicant at Integer Group, a marketing agency. The cereal query was asked in an interview for a financial analyst at Cisco Systems, and the Christmas tree question came up in a marketing interview at Visa Inc.

The company with the easiest interview ranking was Bank of America. Amazon was scored as the most difficult; PricewaterhouseCoopers received the highest positive rating; while Google was rated the most negative experience.

Sample Harassment Complaint Form

2009-04-23T11:22:00.000-07:00

Whether your an employer of a small business or a big one, every HR department knows the importance of operating withing ODEP and EEOC laws. Here is a suggested harassment form from the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission).

This is useful even if you are an employee and in need of filing a complaint. You can use this form as a good starting point to document your harassment complaint!

What do YOU think?

Sample Harassment Complaint Form

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) says any complaint procedure where the only person an employee can complain to is his or her supervisor is an ineffective system-especially, of course, when the supervisor is the harasser. EEOC advises employers to set up multiple avenues of recourse for a complainant.

EEOC further advises that employees who wish to make a complaint of harassment should have the option to complain to someone who is outside of their chain of command, to place confidence in the complainant that the complaint will be handled with impartiality.

Therefore, designate at least two people in the company who employees can approach with an initial complaint, and be sure that they are not in the same chain of command. (Two is a minimum; large companies will surely have to increase the number.)

Sample Harassment Complaint Form

Here is a sample of what you might use for employees to file complaints. It should help you collect
enough specific information to determine what course of action is necessary.

Name: _____________________________________
Department: ________________________________
E-mail address: ________________________
Phone: Home: ____________ Work: ____________ Cell: _____________

Date: _______________

Please provide a detailed description of the behavior or incident (s) about which you are making
a complaint or attach the description to this form. Include the following information and anything
else that would help management understand your complaint:

What happened:

Who was involved:

When the incident(s) took place:

Where the incident(s) took place:

Who (if anyone) witnessed the incident(s):

Please also attach any documents, e-mails, or other materials that support your claim of harassment.

What would you like the company to do to resolve this issue?

____________________________
Signature
____________________________
Date

Submit this form to: ________________________________

A few questions you shouldn’t ask in a job interview

2009-04-21T12:56:00.000-07:00

Here's some good advice on job interviews!

What do you think?

A few questions you shouldn’t ask in a job interview
PERSONAL FINANCE
By Erin Conroy (AP)

NEW YORK — You may think you know what it takes to nail a job interview — how your cover letter should look, what to wear, how to make your greatest weaknesses sound like strengths. But just before the parting handshake, what will you ask your prospective employer?

Crafting the right questions for the interviewer will display confidence and knowledge about the company. Asking the wrong questions can make you appear unqualified or even desperate.

We spoke with staffing professionals and hiring managers who weighed in on what queries will impress interviewers as job competition intensifies. The unemployment rate, now at a 25-year high, is expected to hit 10 percent by year’s end.

It’s important to note that the worst thing you can do is decline to ask questions, said Stephen Tryon, senior vice president of logistics and talent management at Overstock.com. It could show laziness or, worse, a lack of interest. You want to avoid asking questions that can be researched on the company’s Web site, or about pay and benefits packages — at least in the initial interview.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK: It’s a good idea to ask very specific questions that demonstrate your knowledge about the company and show you’ve done your research, said Doug Arms, chief talent officer for Ajilon Professional Staffing. This can be about products, competitors or the company’s strategic plan.

“It’s important how you phrase the questions and cite things you’ve already learned. A good question might be about how the company has poised itself for growth in the past. You might be able to use that response to help formulate your own answers during future interviews.”

You should limit yourself to three questions, Arms said, and make sure they’re short and to the point.

LEARN ABOUT THE JOB: Finding out why the position is open is great for insight about the job itself and what the employer would like done differently, said Jennifer Warne, recruiting specialist for consulting firm Towers Perrin.

You’ll also want to ask about how performance is measured, and whether your interviewer sees potential gaps in your experience, she said.

Arms and career coach Jo Singel give these examples of strong questions to ask:

• How long have you been trying to fill this position?

• What does daily life in this job entail?

• How do you evaluate success?

• What are you expecting from me in the first 60 days I’m working here?

• What kind of orientation program do you have for new employees?

• What have others who’ve worked with you said about your leadership?

• How much confidence do you have in your team?

• What’s more important to you, productivity or creativity?

“At the end, don’t forget to ask for the job,” Singel said. “Tell them you want it. A lot of people forget to do that.”

TIE IN YOUR QUALIFICATIONS: It may be a good idea to thread five strengths into questions to use as emergency backup in case they haven’t already surfaced in the interview, said Bob Daugherty, U.S. head of recruiting accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

“You’re going to need a game plan, but you’ll still need to customize your questions based on what’s happening during the interview,” he said. “What’s most important is that you stay on your toes and get those qualifications and strengths out on the table — no matter what.”

AVOID SALARY AND BENEFITS: Managers agreed that the last thing they want to hear is, “What’s in it for me?”

“The function of asking questions isn’t so much about getting information about the company as it is about conveying your own talent,” Tryon said.

QUESTIONS YOU SHOULDN’T ASK: Avoid questions that are aggressive and can display a “lack of emotional maturity,” said Kristen Weirick, director of talent acquisition for Whirlpool Corp. Some of the questions on her forbidden list:

• Are you going to hire me?

• When will I be promoted?

• How much does this job pay?

• Am I more qualified than the other applicants?

• Can I call you tomorrow?

The worst question Weirick has heard from a job candidate: “That’s a really good question. What do you think the answer is?”

National Return to Work Week

2009-04-13T11:01:00.000-07:00

Disability does not mean no ability. Look at these statistics! National Return To Work Week is May 10th - May 16th. Does Hiring Just ONE disabled person make a difference? Read this article and SEE!

What do you think?

The Grim Statistics are that 80 Million Lost Workdays Due to Occupational Injury or Illness.
Lost Work Days - is a billion dollar crisis hidden in the American workforce! The National Safety Council estimates that there are more than 80,000,000 lost work days due to occupational injuries or illness. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics indicated that, 1.2 million employees lost an average of seven days due to their injury or illness.

National Return to Work Week

Press Release
www.nationalreturntoworkweek.org

National Return to Work Week is an opportunity for everyone involved in the workers compensation and disability management process to demonstrate their commitment to helping injured, disabled or ill employees stay-at-work or return-to-work. This week highlights the importance of employee retention and employee ability. What can the employee do? Verses what they can not do - Disability does not mean no ability.

“The stakes have never been higher” said Margaret Spence, founder of National Return to Work Week. “Every day we hear disturbing information about layoffs and downsizing – when company’s layoff employees, what happens to employees who are injured on the job or have illness that prevent them from find new employment. What do we do with these individuals? Are they just forgotten?”

Annually, 4.1 million employees sustain occupational injury or illness – 1.2 million have lost work days directly related to their injury or illness. Employees who are off work for more than sixteen weeks seldom return to the workforce. Employees with permanent work related disabilities are more likely to become unemployable. The unemployment rate for people with disabilities is 14.0 percent according to the Office of Disability Employment Policy. These statistics prompted, Margaret Spence to submit National Return to Work Week to Chase’s Calendar of Events last April, to her surprise it was accepted and added to the 2009 Calendar.

From a Workers Compensation standpoint – when employees are injured in the workforce there is a monetary reward mindset, a feeling that money is better than a job. This is the only system that rewards employees to stop working – even when they are capable of returning to some employment. “We allow people to join the ranks of the unemployed for the price of a pick up truck” says Spence.

While most employees who are injured immediately return to work and continue their regular job – there are far too many who we settle out of the system. These employees either move on to a new employer, sometimes repeating the cycle, or they move to the ranks of the unemployed. There is also another subset that move into the Social Security System and become permanently disabled – adding a new burden to an already over taxed system.

From a non-work related disability standpoint – once an employee becomes eligible for long term disability, there may be few options to help the employee return to gainful employment or to encourage the employer to explore job or task modifications that would allow the employee to return to work in some capacity.

“Are there other options? says Spence. “Why can’t we make an effort to implement return to work programs that retain injured or ill employees rather than discarding them from the workforce?” she added “even in a challenging economic environment return to work programs are vital. Employers are not conducting a thorough evaluation of the long-term cost of workers compensation and disability coverage in their termination or retention decisions. Many companies may emerge from the economic downturn is dire financial situations because of the decisions they are making about ill, injured or disabled employees today.”

National Return to Work Week 2009 will bring together employers, employees, treating physicians, vocational experts, insurance, legal professionals and disability providers from around the country to share best practices and exchange information to increase return to work opportunities for ill, injured and disabled employees. Together we can highlight the importance of Return to Work, Stay at Work or Transitional Duty Programs.

The NRTWW Motto - Disability does not mean no ability – injured, ill and disabled employees should not be discarded from the workforce. Nor should we create a system that rewards and allows them to discard themselves from the workforce.

For details and more information about National Return to Work Week, becoming a partner, or participating in a our virtual conference, please visit www.nationalreturntoworkweek.org

About National Return to Work Week – This week highlights the impact of not implementing proactive stay-at-work or return to work programs for ill, injured or disabled employees. It is a full week of national educational and best practices presentations aimed at bringing disability management to the forefront of the national employment retention discussion. National Return to Work will be celebrated annually during the second week of May. Visit our website: www.nationalreturntoworkweek.org for more information and to get involved.

About Margaret Spence, CWC, RMPE – Margaret is the author of From Workers Comp Claimant to Valued Employee – and the founder of National Return to Work Week. She is an injury management expert on a mission to help employers understand the importance of implementing proactive return to work or stay at work programs. Learn more about Margaret Spence, visit her website at www.margaretspence.com

Chase’s Calendar of Events - Brothers William D. Chase, a journalist and publisher from Michigan, and Harrison V. Chase, a university social scientist from Florida, founded Chase’s Calendar of Events in 1957. Chase’s Calendar of Events today is the most comprehensive and authoritative reference available on special events, holidays, federal and state observances, historic anniversaries and more. Each spring, thousands of new entries are submitted to join the more than 12,000 items that make up each year’s book. Each event listing (where applicable) contains contact and mailing information. There is no charge to be listed in Chase’s. Each new edition appears in late September preceding the year in question. Visit their website – www.chases.com

Black Employees Targeted With Racial Slurs, Fired for Complaining, EEOC Says

2009-04-13T09:08:00.000-07:00

It still happens?!!!

What DO YOU THINK?

MARJAM SUPPLY COMPANY TO PAY $495,000 TO SETTLE EEOC RACE DISCRIMINATION SUIT

Black Employees Targeted With Racial Slurs, Fired for Complaining, EEOC Says

Courtesy of www.eeoc.gov

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Marjam Supply Company, Inc., a building materials supplier, will pay $495,000 to five former employees to settle a race discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

The EEOC’s lawsuit (Civil Action No. 03-cv-5413-SCR in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, White Plains Division) charged that Marjam discriminated against African American employees in its Newburgh warehouse facility on the basis of their race by subjecting them to differential discipline and termination, creating a hostile work environment, and retaliating against employees who objected to the discrimination.

The EEOC charged that a Marjam supervisor and other Marjam employees made unwelcome racial slurs and comments. The racially hostile workplace included repeatedly calling an employee the N-word, talking about the Ku Klux Klan and referring to burning crosses in front of African American employees. An employee who complained was fired, the EEOC’s lawsuit charged. Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

“Egregious racial harassment still occurs in the 21st century workplace, even though some people may think such discrimination can only be found in history books,” said EEOC Acting Chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru. “Hostile work environments are unacceptable. The EEOC is committed to vigorous enforcement of the employment anti-discrimination laws to ensure that every worker has an equal opportunity to reach his or her full potential.”

The consent decree was submitted to the district court judge for approval after the parties reached a settlement agreement in mediation. In addition to the $495,000 in back pay and compensatory damages to be paid to five former employees, the three-year consent decree includes the following injunctive relief:
* Adopting non-discrimination and complaint procedures;
* Appointing an Equal Employment Office Coordinator;
* Establishing a toll-free number for reporting discrimination complaints;
* Providing anti-discrimination training;
* Issuing a memorandum to all employees on Marjam’s commitment to abide by all federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination;
* Posting a notice about the EEOC, the lawsuit, and Marjam’s non-discrimination and complaint procedures; and
* Monitoring and reporting on carrying out the settlement terms.

“Employers must recognize that they have a responsibility to prevent racial harassment in their workplace and to take swift action to correct any discrimination when it occurs,” said Spencer H. Lewis, director of the EEOC’s New York District Office. “In addition, retaliating against employees for complaining about discrimination is unlawful and taken very seriously by the Commission.”

During Fiscal Year 2008, the EEOC received 33,937 race discrimination charge filings, up 11% from the prior year. Of the total, approximately 8,600 race charges alleged racial harassment, up 23 percent from nearly 7,000 such filings in FY 2007.
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.

Further information about the federal agency is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.

Charging 'Retaliation,' HUD Takes Case of Disabled Renter

2009-04-03T09:35:00.000-07:00

Is it a REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION to be allowed to pay rent late without incurring a late fee or have the rental contract change the date when rent is due WHEN YOU ARE DISABLED AND ON A FIXED INCOME (SOCIAL SECURITY)?

Charging 'Retaliation,' HUD Takes Case of Disabled Renter

Harry Tyus wanted to pay his rent. The problem was his Social Security check didn't come on time.

Each month he was a few days late, and the apartment management company for the Fairway Trails Apartments in Ypsilanti, MI, charged him a $50 late fee each time.
Tyus asked property manager Nicole Morbach if he could please pay his rent a few days late, without incurring the late fee. Morbach refused.

Tyus brought his problem to the Fair Housing Center of Southeastern Michigan, which contacted Fairway Trails, asking that they make a "reasonable accommodation" for Tyus's disability.

Nope. "Doing so would result in extending a preference," they said, and denied the request.

This was back in 2004.

From HUD's news information service:

In July 2004, when rent was not paid on time Fairway Trails Apartments started the process to evict [Tyus]. Despite the rent and the late fee being paid on July 22, Fairway continued the eviction process.

In October 2004, a Michigan court agreed that Tyus should have received the rent reset as a reasonable accommodation. The judge also ruled that Fairway Trails Limited L.P. was not entitled to a late fee for the previous two months and that the pay date would be reset.

Unhappy with the court ruling, Fairway Trails Limited L.P. informed Tyus in October 2004 that they would not renew his lease when it expired in January 2005.
Last week, HUD announced that it has charged Morbach, the management company Benchmark Management Corporation and Fairway Trails Limited, L.P. with a violation of the Fair Housing Act, for retaliation against Tyus.

According to HUD's press release, "Housing discrimination charges heard before an administrative law judge carry a maximum civil penalty of $11,000 for a first offense, in addition to actual damages for the complainant, injunctive or other equitable relief, and attorneys’ fees. Sanctions can be more severe if a respondent has a history of housing discrimination. If either party elects to go to federal district court, either party may request a jury trial, and punitive damages may be awarded."

Read HUD press release.
Posted on April 03, 2006 | Permalink

New Dolls on the Block

2009-03-30T13:31:00.000-07:00

By William Lee Adams Thursday, Mar. 19, 2009

CONTROVERSIAL: Toymakers argue their dolls normalize disability, but some parents say they pigeonhole kids. What do YOU think?

Emily Keegin

Ever since Barbie and her reality-defying curves stepped into the playhouse, parents have complained that dolls promote an unattainable image of beauty. It's a particularly piquant point for Lexington, South Carolina mother Mary Ann Perry, whose 23-year-old daughter Valerie lives with Down Syndrome. "Dolls represent real people in the imagination of a young person," Perry says. "I don't want Valerie to think she has to be conventionally beautiful to be loved."

So when Valerie asked for a doll at Christmas, her mother bypassed buxom Barbie and purchased Elizabeth (retail price: $175) from S.C.-based retailer Downi Creations. Featuring 13 physical characteristics of Down Syndrome, including almond-shaped eyes, low-set ears, a horizontal crease in her palms and a slightly protruding tongue. Elizabeth, says Perry, is "different but beautiful at the same time." (See pictures of Barbie's 50 years.)

She's also one of a new breed of dolls targeted at special-needs kids. Parents in the U.S. and Europe are snapping up Down Syndrome dolls, blind babies, paraplegic dolls in wheelchairs and dolls wearing scarves as if undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.

"There's a therapeutic impact," says Helga Parks, who sells more than 2,000 Down Syndrome and Chemo Friends a year through her online Helga's European Specialty Toys. Parks believes her products boost a child's self-esteem by normalizing their condition, and foster understanding among peers: "They take away the fear and sense of alienation for both parties."

While toy sales have been hit by the downturn, special-needs dolls are doing well. Sales at Downi Creations remained steady in 2008, while Kids Like Me, a U.K. retailer, sold 25% more dolls last year than in 2007. Among its hottest items are the Disability Set — which comes with two dolls, a guide dog, dark glasses and leg braces; and Tilley, who uses an electric wheelchair. "She's jazzy, she's modern, she's now," says company director Emmanuel Blackman.

Or is she? Special-needs dolls, and Down Syndrome dolls in particular, have come in for criticism from parents who believe they pigeonhole their children and rely on stereotypes. "It's a scary image for a lot of families," says Sheila Hebein, the executive director of the Chicago-based National Association for Down Syndrome. "They're highlighting differences that do not exist in all of our children. Certainly most do not have their tongues hanging out." In fact, she says, many work hard in therapy to improve muscle tone so they can better control their mouths. (Dollmaker Parks offers a nonprotruding option.)

Annette Hames, a British psychologist and an expert on how children conceive disability, says that anyone, special needs or not, would struggle to identify with these "odd-looking" dolls. Besides, she says, "Down Syndrome isn't about what you look like. It's about what you can and cannot do."

Despite such criticism, dollmakers remain unfazed. Peter Laudin, owner of the New York-based Pattycake Doll Company, says offended parents bring their own prejudices to the dolls, perhaps because of their personal difficulty accepting a child's situation. "Nothing we respond with satisfies their hurt," he says. But for kids who receive the dolls, that's beside the point. "Children love all dolls unconditionally whether it's special needs or not," Laudin says. Retailers hope adults share that openness, too.

TWO MAGIC QUESTIONS TO HIRING?

2009-03-10T09:15:00.000-07:00

Steve Wunderlink gives us TREMENDOUS INSIGHT into the reality of what we are REALLY looking for when hiring...how we choose WHO WE HIRE, and maybe most importantly, he gives us food for thought...on who WE ARE!

He breaks down hiring into JUST TWO QUESTIONS...(based on experience and skill)...read on to figure out just WHERE YOU FIT IN.....and WHAT THOSE QUESTIONS ARE!

And as always, WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Hiring

from http://themoralbusiness.blogspot.com/2009/03/hiring-part-one.html

by Steve Wunderlink

The nervous twenty-something sat down at a chair I offered him in the break room of the factory where I was hiring. Within a few seconds of meeting him I had a pretty good idea of whether I was going to hire him or not. Some had resumes and ties, some had torn jeans and a ratty shirt, but most had a scared look on their faces.

I set them at ease with an offer of something to drink before we sat down and began the interview. After doing hundreds of interviews and hiring dozens of new employees into the company I got pretty good at getting to know people quickly. Let me give you a few quick observations about hiring for jobs.

Resumes are for pinheads. Any good manager can tell more from a handshake and a look in the eye then they could ever from a resume. Only in the MOST technical of jobs do you even need to know any kind of proficiency in tech stuff. You can ALWAYS teach someone to fix and maintain but you can RARELY teach guts, brains, perseverance and interpersonal skills. I know a lot of idiots with great resumes and there “ain’t no fix for stupid.”

Never trust educational background. With less than 50% of our high school graduates knowing how to read and most universities teaching you political views instead of calculus; I would never trust education. Most people learn to take tests. “Will this be on the exam?” And they forget as soon as the last paper is handed in. How much education and where you got it isn’t important. My degrees are more a testament to my perseverance and patience than they are to my knowledge.

Be prejudiced. Hire based on certain prejudices. I am NOT talking about skin color or gender, which makes no difference. I am talking about hiring the RIGHT people for the RIGHT job, whoever that may be. I have felt pressures from every front to hire people who were not right for the job but they were “right” for some other reason. I was asked to hire a person because their family worked in the company, because they came from a certain school, because I needed more minorities in my departments, because they had seniority, and even because they just needed a break. Resist the pressure against hiring the RIGHT person for the RIGHT job, be prejudiced.

Get under their skin. So many interviews I have been in, on both sides of the table, never get under the skin at what the person is really like. How do you get to know a person in that short of time? They walk in. Are they late, RIGHT on time, or early? You see how they are dressed. Are they OVER dressed, appropriate, or UNDER dressed? You shake their hand. Is it strong and confident, wimpy fish-like, crushing, or Monkish where they wipe after they shake?

You look them in the eyes. Are they scared, averted, piercing and deep, or bloodshot? You offer them a drink. Do they graciously accept and thank you, decline and thank you, offer to pay, or have their own and pull out a JB from their pocket. You sit down with them. Do they slouch, sit at attention, cross arms and legs, lean towards you or lean away from you?

You haven’t said a word yet but you probably know whether you are going to hire them based on the first few minutes of meeting them. I am now ready for the interview. Sometimes they surprise me and wipe out my first impressions but usually I have only two questions for them ...

I am now ready for the interview. Sometimes they surprise me and wipe out my first impressions but usually I have only two questions for them...

When I was interviewed and trained to DO interviews I was given a book of questions to ask or choose from. I started with the book and the interview took over and hour and I would dutifully write down their answers so I could consult it later and remember why I hired them in the first place ... how stupid is that.

Here are some stupid questions to ask in an interview:
- Are you a self starter?
- Do you consider yourself a people person?
- Are you a leader?
- Are you a Green Bay Packers fan?
- Do you have a problem with overtime?
- Did you get good grades in school?

All of these questions will get only one response. They are basically an intelligence test and not interview questions. If ANY ONE answers "no" to these questions don't hire them. These are leading questions and don't get under the skin of the person.

Here are some good questions:
- Define integrity.
- What is on your bookshelf right now?
- Who needs you?
- Tell me about a time when you got in over your head and what you did about it.
- What is the greatest event in your life so far?

When I was a rookie I had the first set of questions and wondered why I really didn't know my new employee. When I became a little seasoned I evolved to the second set of questions and enjoyed the people I worked with. After hundreds of interviews I broke even those questions down into just two. Two questions told me what I needed to know about the person beyond the non-verbal's described in the last column. Two questions to get below the surface:
- What do you expect from me, your boss?
- What can I expect from you, my employee?

Confused? Not really, you can find out a lot about a person from those two questions. See if you can tell which I would hire based on the following answers.

What do you expect from me, your boss?
- A paycheck
- A chance to prove myself
- Two weeks paid vacation
- A company car
- Experience, guidance, and knowledge

What can I expect from you, my employee?
- My best, everyday
- Eight hours, minus breaks of course
- My support of you, to make YOU look good
- Loyalty
- The extra mile
- 40 hours a week, with time and a half for more

Which would you hire? Maybe the more important question is: Which are you?

Steve Wunderlink
themoralbusiness.blogspot.com

Bill would require Oregon universities to interview at least one minority football coach candidate

2009-03-04T10:33:00.000-08:00

Rachel Bachman wrote this article for the Oregonian, (at www.oregonlive.com), and I have to admit...I think she hit the nail on the head with this one.

Since this is a blog - I can safely tell you (hopefully without losing you to boredom) that this morning on my way to work I pondered JUST THIS QUESTION...What then, if affirmative action isn't "fair" to qualified minority applicants....then what is the alternative?

And I thought, "How about a LAW that companies must INTERVIEW minority applicants?!" I was Oh, So Proud.....until....

Alas, I don't have an original idea, but it is HOPEFUL, is it not, that Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, drafted JUST THAT measure at the behest of constituent Sam Sachs, a former college football player and minority-rights activist.

I LIKE IT. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Bill would require Oregon universities to interview at least one minority football coach candidate

by Rachel Bachman, The Oregonian

www.oregonlive.com, rachelbachman@news.oregonian.com

The Oregon Legislature plans to introduce a bill this week that would require universities to interview at least one minority candidate before hiring a head football coach. If it passes, Oregon would become the first state with such a law.
House Bill 3118 is patterned after the NFL's Rooney Rule, which helped transform the league's head coaching ranks after being implemented in 2003.

Oregon's bill aims to diversify hiring in major college football, where seven of 120 head coaches are minorities.

Richard Lapchick, founder and director of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics In Sport at University of Central Florida, said the bill could push the NCAA to drop its resistance to enacting a similar rule.

"I think it's very significant and very welcome by people who have been fighting for this for a long time," Lapchick said.

Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, drafted the measure at the behest of constituent Sam Sachs, a former college football player and minority-rights activist.
"It seems to me it only makes sense," Greenlick said. "Because (the Rooney Rule) has had an effect and because I don't think minority coaches have been given a fair shake in Oregon, certainly in football."

Oregon's bill would cover the six state universities with football teams: Oregon, Oregon State, Portland State, Eastern Oregon, Western Oregon and Southern Oregon.
The bill contains an exception for a school "bound by contract to promote a member of the institution's current coaching staff." Call it the Oregon Out: In December, the Ducks promised their head coaching job to offensive coordinator Chip Kelly when Mike Bellotti becomes the school's athletic director.

The bill grew out of Sachs' frustration over the speedy hire of Jerry Glanville in 2007 as Portland State's football coach. Sachs said he has nothing against Glanville but decried the lack of a more inclusive search for such a prominent job.

Ironically, Portland State hired one of the nation's first African American head football coaches: Ron Stratten in 1972. But since he resigned after the 1974 season, most of the state's head football coaches have been white. Neither Oregon nor Oregon State has had a minority head football coach.

Rob Cashell, athletic director at Eastern Oregon, said the bill might help his department.

"I think if qualified minorities knew that they were going to have a possibility to interview, they might take a closer look at schools such as ours -- that Oregon has this law and there's an opportunity there. It might strengthen the pool of candidates."

Sachs, who has a black studies degree from Portland State and teaches about diversity at the Oregon State Police Academy, lobbied administrators and wrote letters to the editor about the need to open head-coach searches. But the former fullback at Western Oregon didn't get much traction.

Sachs said he thought about suing to push the issue. But, he said, "I'm not black and I'm not a coach."

So Sachs approached legislators about writing a bill, using his 2005 experience as an intern in Oregon Sen. Avel Gordly's office.

If passed, the measure could slow down and open up football head-coaching searches, which are often quick and secretive. Sachs said he got friendly receptions, though no endorsements, in meetings with OSU athletic director Bob De Carolis and UO athletic director Pat Kilkenny.

"I've been very surprised and pleased," Sachs said, "at how most people I have reached out to, whether it be athletic directors that I've talked to, or coaches, or legislators, they already seem to mentally be there. And they think, 'Yeah, this is a no-brainer. Of course.' So to me, that's encouraging, and it just reinforces my belief in people."

Unlike the Rooney Rule, which levies fines for teams that don't comply, Oregon's bill includes no penalties.

The ranks of minority coaches in the NBA and men's college basketball, sports with high numbers of African American athletes, have increased to the point where race is rarely discussed in hiring.

The NFL's minority hiring lagged until the 2003 adoption of the rule named for Dan Rooney, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and chairman of the league's diversity committee.

Three years later, seven of the league's 32 head coaches were minorities -- 22 percent. In 2007 and 2009, African American head coaches led teams to Super Bowl victories.

Advocacy groups have decried the lack of similar progress in college football, where about 47 percent of players are African American but six percent of the coaches are. In January the New Jersey Legislature introduced a bill urging the NCAA to adopt the Rooney Rule. Oregon's bill would take that a step further and make it state law.
Greenlick said the bill has a good chance of passing.

"I don't see what should stop it," he said. "I mean, who's going to come in and oppose it? All you're asking them to do is when you're hiring a new coach and you're doing interviews, interview at least one minority candidate."

-- Rachel Bachman; rachelbachman@news.oregonian.com

Movie Production Companies Resolve Pregnancy EEOC Case

2009-02-23T11:14:00.000-08:00

So, it's NOT "stranger than fiction" that Hollywood makes mistakes. You would think by now.....but that's why we have the EEOC! All employees should be aware of the role of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This government agency exists to ensure that all employees are treated fairly, regardless of age, disability, national origin, veteran status, pregnancy, race, religion, retaliation, sex and sexual harassment.

There is no cost to file a charge or talk to an EEOC representative. You can call 1-800-669-4000, or go online to www.eeoc.gov. You can send email to info@eeoc.gov.

The EEOC is ready and able to help.

Do YOU think the majority of employee's KNOW ABOUT THE EEOC?

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
PRESS RELEASE 2-12-09
www.EEOC.gov

MOVIE PRODUCTION COMPANIES RESOLVE PREGNANCY DISCRIMINATION CASE WITH EEOC
“Stranger Than Fiction” Production Companies to Pay $75,000 to Pregnant Job Applicant

CHICAGO, Crick Pictures, L.L.C., and Mandate Pictures, L.L.C., will pay $75,000 to settle a federal pregnancy discrimination suit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC’s suit had charged that movie production companies Crick and Mandate refused to hire a pregnant job applicant, Cynthia Castillo-Hill, for a position as an extras casting assistant after they learned that she was expecting a baby. Castillo-Hill sought work on the film Stranger Than Fiction, which stars Will Ferrell.

The EEOC’s evidence in this case which included an e-mail from the hiring supervisor showed that the defendants believed that Castillo-Hill’s pregnancy would prevent her from being able to handle the stress and long hours associated with the job though her own doctor had indicated that the job was appropriate, explained EEOC Chicago District Office head Jack C. Rowe.

EEOC Regional Attorney John Hendrickson, who oversees all litigation for Chicago District Office, added, “It is just this sort of stereotypical decision making by an employer that is prohibited by federal law, and for good reasons.” Pregnancy discrimination violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978.

The consent decree settling the suit, signed by Judge Gottschall of U.S. District Court in Chicago today, provides that the defendants will pay the pregnant applicant and her attorneys a total of $75,000, less applicable taxes. The decree enjoins the companies from future pregnancy discrimination and retaliation. It also requires the defendants to provide training to their managers about the obligation to avoid discrimination. The EEOC suit was originally filed and captioned EEOC v. Crick Pictures, et al., Case No. 08 cv 5005, N.D. Illinois E. Div.

EEOC Trial Attorney Deborah Hamilton, who worked on the matter, said, “The Pregnancy Discrimination Act makes clear that pregnant job applicants must be judged on the basis of their job skills and abilities, not on the basis of their pregnancy. We are pleased that the defendants have joined in a voluntary resolution of this suit. All parties thus have saved further time and expense”.

EEOC Supervisory Trial Attorney Gregory Gochanour, who managed the agency’s litigation of the case, added, Ms. Castillo-Hill will receive meaningful compensation, and through the consent decree, protections are in place to ensure that future discrimination is avoided.

Federal Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole in Chicago had presided over a settlement conference that led to the resolution of this case.

The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, color, gender (including sexual harassment and pregnancy), religion, national origin, age, disability and retaliation. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.

Recession hitting minority job rolls

2009-02-23T07:19:00.000-08:00

Have you been wondering how minorities are faring during this recession? What solutions does the federal stimulus package offer?

What do you think?

Chris Casey, a reporter for the Greeley Tribune has a finger on the pulse of the unemployment rate and what's in store for minorities...read on...

Recession hitting minority job rolls
By Chris Casey
Greeley Tribune
www.greeleytribune.com

Minorities rank disproportionately high on U.S. unemployment rolls, and without innovative programs to connect them to jobs, the gap could worsen under the massive federal stimulus package, according to a national Latino advocacy group.

Much of the $787 billion package’s job-training and educational investments are for existing programs, and those don’t always reach Latinos or other people with limited English-speaking skills, said Catherine Singley, a policy analyst with the National Council of La Raza’s Employment and Economic Policy Project. Job training targeted directly at these populations, including English as a Second Language classes, should be an emphasis in the stimulus package, she said.

“We want to make sure all workers are prepared to compete for worker opportunities, and make sure the disparity blacks and Latinos face in the labor market [is] not exacerbated by the new stimulus package,” Singley said.

Since the recession began, unemployment among minorities has outpaced the rest of the population, according to a study by the Center for American Progress, a labor and civil rights-oriented think tank.

Representatives from the National Council of La Raza and the Center for American Progress hosted a national teleconference this week called “Latinos and the Economy.”

Some unemployment figures, based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, of the American Progress report:

» 9.7 percent — unemployment rate for Latinos in January 2009, an increase of 3.5 percentage points from December 2007 and the highest level since 1995;

» 12.6 percent — unemployment rate for blacks in January, an increase of 3.7 percentage points since December 2007 and the highest level since 1994;

» 6.9 percent — unemployment rate for Anglos, an increase of 2.5 percentage points since December 2007 and the highest level since 1983.

The report also highlighted earning gaps between groups:

» $535 — median weekly earnings of Latinos in fourth-quarter 2008.

» $593 — median weekly earnings of black workers in the period.

» $748 — median weekly earnings of Anglo workers in the period.

Singley said the Council of La Raza also is concerned that in the rush to get stimulus money out “we might sacrifice the chance to get new stakeholders to the table.” The package, she said, is a broad-reaching investment that might not reach the communities most in need.

She also said that Latinos accounted for 54 percent of the new labor participants in the U.S. labor market in 2008. “So if the success of the package is slowing the growth of unemployment, what happens when you add new workers? … That hasn’t been addressed.”

John Brick, spokesman for the Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform, said he views language skills as a “small barrier” to unemployed Americans of all races seeking work.

“If you’re talking about stimulus package meat and potatoes — putting jobs on the table — I think most Americans, and those in the state of Colorado, have adequate language skills to get these jobs,” he said.

He said the alliance is disappointed that E-Verify, a program that checks workers’ immigration status, wasn’t required to be used by businesses receiving funds in the stimulus bill.

“I frame it, and CAIR frames this, more as a class problem rather than a race problem,” Brick said. “I think you’ll find there is a class of business that’s looking for cheap labor, has looked for cheap labor and anything along the way will look to bring in labor for the cheapest cost.”

Will Straw, associate director for economic policy at the Center for American Progress, said the stimulus package directs $4 billion for job training to help people who’ve lost jobs get retrained for new work options. He noted that the stimulus also boosts money for Pell Grants to help low-income people attend college and improve their marketability in the high-skill-oriented economy.

Singley, of the Council of La Raza, said the infrastructure piece of the stimulus — $150 billion will be directed to highways, bridges and other building projects — is where Latino workers can see the biggest employment boost.

“Our concern is where the jobs are going to be created and the types of skills required to link up to the new jobs,” she said. “Our emphasis is on targeted training to those with multiple barriers to get jobs, including a language barrier disparity.”

Chris Casey is a reporter for the Greeley Tribune in Greeley, Colorado. He can be reached at ccasey@greeleytrib.com.

Top 10 Reasons Why People with Disabilities Should Work

2009-02-18T09:22:00.000-08:00

IF you think it's a good idea for people with disabilities to work....If your disabled and you think it's a good idea to work or your looking for good reasons to work....Here's Some GREAT information on WHY PEOPLE WITH DISABLILITIES SHOULD WORK!

Plus I think Mr. Lavin opens the door for us to gain a broader understanding of what results we see from affirmative action programs and he has some practical advice for companies on how to hire people based on SKILLS instead.

Do you think WORK should allow you to invest your abilities for pay? Do you think hiring should be based on skill and talent? What do YOU think?

Top 10 Reasons Why People with Disabilities Should Work
by Don Lavin

Don Lavin is Vice President of a private, non-profit corporation that specializes in customized employment for unemployed and underemployed youth and adults with varied disabilities and employment challenges. His very informative and interesting blog is located at donlavin.blogspot.com.

Recently, I accepted an invitation to speak at a Statewide video conference entitled: The Meaning and Value of Employment of People with Disabilities in Minnesota. This video conference is being planned and sponsored by Pathways to Employment (PTE), Minnesota’s Medicaid Infrastructure Grant (MIG). The mission of PTE is to increase the competitive employment of people with disabilities and meet Minnesota's workforce needs by bringing together people with disabilities, employers, businesses, government, and providers.

This upcoming conference is dedicated to a discussion on real values of employment, beyond wages, from the perspective of workers with disabilities. The target audience for the video conference is people with disabilities and family members, County staff, providers of disability-related services, and advocates from all around the State of Minnesota. Appropriately, the event will include perspectives and views of people with disabilities as well as advocates working to promote competitive employment for working age adults with disabilities.

I will share my viewpoint and conclusions with the audience based on 32 years of management experience with employment and workforce development programs. And I intend to keep the discussion light and fun so I’ve decided to use a "David Letterman Top Ten" approach as I present the main reasons why youth and adults with disabilities should choose work as their first option. Here they are–

10. Work makes you feel good.
American author and philosopher, Henry David Thoreau, said it best- "What exercise is to the body, work is to the mind." Thoreau’s observation is not only correct but supported by employment related research. In the area of mental health, for example, supported employment has been identified as an evidenced-based practice (EBP) in recovery from a serious mental illness. New research tells us that people shouldn’t wait until they recover before they go to work. Rather, the opposite is apparently true– people tend to recover BECAUSE they go to work! There is little question that having an occupation is fundamental to human wellness and for so many reasons.

9. The workforce needs you.
Numerous workforce studies forecast labor shortages in the next decade including warnings about how impending baby boomer retirements will deplete the American workforce of critical talents. Also, studies document the challenges business are having finding skilled and unskilled labor across a spectrum of economic sectors. To illustrate, a recent study by Manpower, Inc. revealed 41% of American companies surveyed were having trouble filling jobs. Clearly, changing workforce demographics and dynamic economies in America are creating new opportunities for partnerships with private businesses. Now is the time to engage the employability of all interested and available workers with a wide range of skills and abilities.

I am a member of an employment leadership team in Minnesota that recently crafted a value proposition to communicate the importance of including everyone in our local workforce. Minnesota’s value proposition says this– "We need everyone in the workforce for businesses to thrive and communities to prosper."
And including everyone means tapping every available citizen who wants to work.

8. Work is a part of your identity.
Whenever we meet new people, a ritual of getting to know one another commonly ensues. Generally speaking, people are initially interested in asking us questions about who we are and where we live. And the third most likely inquiry is this– "What do you do?"
Indeed, having an occupation is highly valued in our American culture. A job becomes a central part of the fabric of who we are and contributes to how others see and relate to us. Kate Stepkin, a U.S. baker, put it this way– "Work is an essential part of being alive. Your work is your identity. It tells you who you are."

"What do you do?" And how should chronically unemployed individuals answer this question? Further, how does their answer shape self-esteem or contribute to valued roles in their community?

7. Work gives you a chance to meet new people.
Many national studies validate that people with disabilities experience high and chronic unemployment separating them from the social and economic fabric of their communities. To illustrate, the National Organization on Disability (NOD)/ Louis Harris Poll conducted a study in 2004 and found people with disabilities were more likely to experience high unemployment (65%) and discrimination. Conversely, they were less likely to socialize, eat out, or attend religious services than their counterparts who don’t have disabilities. In addition, this study found people with disabilities were less likely to report overall satisfaction with their lives with only 34% saying they were highly satisfied verses 61% of their counterparts.
To say it simply, social similarities attract and differences repel.

A working life gives people with disabilities an opportunity to meet and connect with others in their community. And this experience of friendship and collegial team work educates the public about the competence of people with disabilities to work and live in the mainstream of community life. Social integration is critical to widening opportunities, battling stereotypes, galvanizing human rights, and ensuring the American public’s support of universal design policies so no one is left behind and everyone is included.

6. Work provides life structures.
Work gives a fundamental purpose and meaning to our lives. It offers life structures and regular routines such as:
· how we spend our time
· what we spend our time doing
· where we spend our time
· who we spend our time with
· why spend our time in the way we do.

Work offers consistency in our schedule and fills structured time with challenges, social relationships, and activities that nurture personal growth.

5. Work allows you to invest your skills and talents for pay.
Contrary to stereotypes, myths, and half-truths, people with disabilities are real economic assets. And work enables people with disabilities to invest their time, skills, and talents to the economic gain of employers and themselves. As it is for all people, the real challenge is identifying, unlocking, marketing, and employing innate talents or acquired job skills.

Like the unique color of our eyes, texture of our hair, or other physical attributes, we are all born with individual gifts and talents to contribute. Sadly, potential contributions of individuals living with significant disabilities are often overlooked, dismissed, or underestimated. Individual talents, however, can be examined through creative processes such as "discovery" or "person-centered career planning."

Discovery and career planning are designed to study and assess potential economic contributions of youth or adults with significant disabilities. These procedures are not assessment tools for screening the appropriateness or suitability of working. Rather they are strategies for identifying and determining how talents, assets, and potential contributions can be marketed to private industry. Once these possibilities are identified, they can be marketed to prospective employers through traditional job placement approaches. Or, customized employment practices can be used to build job opportunities around the unique interests and skills of individuals receiving the employment assistance.

In my view, it seems like such a waste of talent when no clear effort is made to employ the skills or innate potential that virtually everyone holds. Why not exchange these talents for real pay?

4. Work contributes to greater independence and self-support.
Unless people work or happen to be independently wealthy, most rely on someone else or the government for their keep. For chronically unemployed individuals, gaining a measure of economic power in their lives increases autonomy and choices about many personal matters. Earning a competitive wage and other employment benefits contributes to one’s self-support and provides discretionary income empowering people to set short-term and long-term goals.

3. Work contributes to higher productivity and achievement.
Competitive employment enables people to use their strengths and practice their skills. This leads to higher levels of individual competency and achievement. In addition, work enables people to pool their talents with others to achieve something greater than themselves. When people reach tangible personal goals they've set for themselves, it fuels higher self-esteem and personal competence. And when people with disabilities contribute to attainment of a company’s business accomplishments, it educates and breaks down social and economic barriers to success.

2. Poverty sucks!
I remember a politically incorrect poster many years ago by Micheal O'Harro. The poster portrayed a rich man standing in front of his Rolls Royce sipping on a cocktail. Inscribed above the photo was a sarcastic message– "Poverty Sucks!" Well, it sure does. Money may not buy happiness but it sure helps people pay the bills and live a minimum standard of life that brings comforts and pleasures.

A colleague and friend of mine, Joe Maronne, said it best– "If you think working is stressful, try a lifetime of unemployment and poverty." Right on, Joe!
1. Why work? Because you CAN!!

If you live with a disability, there is no better time in history than now to consider work. Almost anyone can work if he or she chooses to, has a good plan, finds an interested employer, and has access to essential work and community supports. Today, we have improved work incentives and public policies, amazing technologies to increase accessibility and functionality, better public and private transportation systems, and more effective employment practices to customize jobs and deliver the job supports people need to contribute in the workforce.

Is "going to work" really that easy for most people with disabilities? Of course not. If it were, there would be more people working. There are still significant barriers to employment for many Americans with disabilities because of low expectations and lack of access to responsive services many people need to meet presenting challenges or overcome individual circumstances.

If you really want to work and you’re getting the run around, I highly recommend seeking out educational and adult service providers who observe an "employment first" philosophy and believe in your abilities to work. These are the providers who are most likely to deliver on your potential. And yes, it may take some time to find the right employer or develop a job that is good match to your abilities, but it will be well worth the wait.

There is a place in the American workforce for anyone who chooses to work. We need to find it, develop it, or if necessary, create it.
For all of these reasons, I say-Choose work!