Today the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published its final rule on Affirmative Action for Individuals with Disabilities in Federal Employment. It becomes effective 60 days from publication, and its provisions are applicable beginning January 3, 2018. Indeed, federal employees with disabilities – and federal job seekers with disabilities – have some great things to look forward to!

Most importantly, the rule adds two significant requirements to the administration of the Rehabilitation Act. First, those federal employees with targeted disabilities requiring personal assistance (PA) services for work and work-related travel can receive them from their employing agency as a reasonable accommodation. This is huge! People with significant mobility disabilities may now be able to use the restroom at work, eat lunch, and have someone put their coat on before they leave for the day. Importantly, the EEOC expects federal agencies to even provide PA services outside of the agency’s infrastructure for those individuals telecommuting.

I would feel a bit strange about my employer being involved in my toileting routine. Fortunately, the EEOC specifically notes that when hiring a PA service provider, the agency shall “give primary consideration to the individual’s preferences to the extent permitted by law.” This means, for example, that if a female employee with a targeted disability only feels comfortable with the assistance of another female, the agency must consider this request. I am grateful to those submitting comments to the EEOC regarding the intimacy of the relationship between a PA service provider and the recipient of those services.

Second, the EEOC is requiring federal agencies to take specifically-designated steps toward hiring more people with disabilities, and particularly those with severe disabilities. (It should be noted that the EEOC specifically refrained from using the word “severe,” after a commentor indicated the lack of political correctness. You’ll get no political correctness from this crip; consider my succinctness a reasonable accommodation for exhausted vocal muscles.) Specifically, the final rule mandates that the following steps be taken to increase the hiring advancement of those with disabilities:

• Programs and resources should be used to identify applicants with disabilities;
• Contracting with disability organizations, including vocational rehabilitation programs, centers for independent living, and employment networks;
• Ensured availability of sufficient personnel to answer disability-related questions;
• Creating a plan of action to ensure that disable employees have opportunities for advancement, including information about training opportunities and/or a mentoring program;
• Inclusion of disability within the agency’s anti-harassment policy and training materials;
• Adoption of easy-to-understand and easily-available reasonable accommodation policies and rights to accessible technology;
• Guarantee that the agency evaluate its entire budget when determining whether a reasonable accommodation would constitute an undue hardship; and
• Provide applicants or employees with a written notice (in an accessible format) of why a reasonable accommodation was denied, along with instructions on how to file a discrimination complaint and appeal.

How’s that for being a model employer?! Any guesses on when we can expect the private sector to get on board?