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30 Sep National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Posted at 17:03h in Blog Post by

Integrated Staffing is proud to support National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). Held each October, NDEAM aims to educate about disability employment issues and celebrate the many and varied contributions of America’s workers with disabilities.

This year marks not only the 75th observance of NDEAM, but also the 30th anniversary of the ADA. Both milestones are being commemorated with a range of events and activities centered on the theme “Increasing Access and Opportunity.”   Throughout the upcoming month, Integrated Staffing will be engaging in a variety of activities to educate our clients and associates on disability employment issues and the role they play in fostering a disability-friendly work culture.

To kick off this celebration in this blog, check out the recommended 7 day plan, starting tomorrow, October 1, (by the DOL) to help increase awareness and education within your organization.  Check out our blog next Wednesday for more ideas.

Day #1 — Put up an National Awareness Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) poster

NDEAM is a great time to freshen up bulletin boards in workplaces, schools, libraries or other community locations. Start by putting up this year’s NDEAM poster.

Day #2 — Review Company Policies

For employers, NDEAM presents an opportune time to review company policies to ensure they convey a commitment to workplace culture inclusive of people with disabilities. For assistance in doing so, access Inclusion@Work: A Framework for Building a Disability-Inclusive Organization (see in particular the first section, “Lead the Way: Inclusive Business Culture”).

Day #3 — Train Supervisors

Employers can consider conducting training for supervisors to ensure they understand their role in fostering an inclusive workplace culture. Such training may include a review of relevant policies, including the process for providing reasonable accommodations. One easy way to provide such training is to make use of available “turn-key” training modules.

Day #4 — Educate Employees

For employers, NDEAM is a great time to reinforce a commitment to an inclusive workplace through disability training or informal educational events such as brown-bag lunch discussions. Several ready-to-use resources can assist in facilitating such activities, such as disability etiquette materials and the “I Can” public service announcement and accompanying workplace discussion guide. Another option is to contact local disability organizations to see if they offer workplace training programs.

Day #5 — Issue an NDEAM Press Release

Employers, schools and community-based organizations can issue a press release to local media to announce their involvement in NDEAM. To assist, a “fill-in-the-blank” template is available that can be quickly customized.

Day #6 — Participate in Disability Mentoring Day

Disability Mentoring Day promotes career development for youth with disabilities through hands-on programs, job shadowing and ongoing mentoring. The nationwide observance is the third Wednesday October, but employers may choose to host events on any day of the month (or year for that matter).

Logo of Disability Mentoring Day

Day #7 — NDEAM provides an interesting hook for social media platforms, including Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

For the latter, organizations are encouraged to include the hashtag #NDEAM. Sample postings and tweets are available to assist in incorporating NDEAM into social media activities, as are tips for making tweets accessible.

Logos of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
Employers and employees in all industries can learn more about how to participate in National Disability Employment Awareness Month and ways to promote its messages — during October and throughout the year — by visiting www.dol.gov/NDEAM.
#NDEAM #NationalDisabilityEmploymentAwareness #educate #raiseawareness