[blindlaw] Attorney General Issues New Call to Action

Fri May 29 16:09:22 UTC 2009

-----Original Message-----
From: Stuart Wittenstein [mailto:swittenstein at csb-cde.ca.gov]
Sent: Friday, May 29, 2009 7:57 AM
Subject: FW: Breaking News - Attorney General Issues New Call to Action

Hi CAC members,

I thought you'd be interested in this message from the federal
government re: hiring goals for persons with disabilities.

Please note that the author of this message is our graduation speaker on
Monday, June 1 at 1 PM.  Please make it down to CSB if you can to listen
to Ollie Cantos give CSB's 149th commencement address.

Stuart Wittenstein, Ed.D.

Superintendent

California School for the Blind

500 Walnut Avenue

Fremont, CA 94536

510-794-3800, X201

"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other
lives."Jackie Robinson

________________________________

From: Cantos, Ollie (CRT) [mailto:Ollie.Cantos at usdoj.gov] 
Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2009 6:07 PM
Subject: Breaking News - Attorney General Issues New Call to Action

Dear Colleagues:

What a wonderful opportunity this is to be in touch with you again,
especially after more than two months.  The primary reason surrounding
this time gap in communications stems from our having to work on issues
relating to our software, which is still in need of upgrading to the new
operating system.  But, in light of very recent developments within the
past 24 hours or so, I simply had to find a way to get the word out
quickly, even before system improvements are implemented and finalized.
Having just returned from travel late last night, my goal today has been
to get in touch with you as quickly as possible.

Getting right to the heart of today's email, I am extremely pleased to
share information with you that is late-breaking.  Our Attorney General,
Eric Holder, head of the U.S. Department of Justice, has just issued a
Department-wide call to hire and promote persons with targeted
disabilities (i.e., those with physical, psychiatric, and intellectual
disabilities) to be hired to fill positions for which they qualify
within the various Department components.  As such, within my capacity
as Member of the Attorney General's Committee on Employment of Persons
with Disabilities, I immediately wanted to share with you the original
Portable Document File format copy of a Department memorandum, dated May
27, 2009 (text also pasted below).  I strongly advise you to print and
retain this memo for your records and to share this important document
with everyone in your respective networks who wishes to seek employment
in our Department.  Job-seekers may include a copy of this memo in their
applications as a reminder to hiring authorities of the call to action
issued by the Attorney General.

Supplementing this PDF, I am also taking the liberty of re-sending to
the network an article on employment of individuals with disabilities,
which was last revised in late 2007.  Of specific note, job-seekers may
wish to utilize "Schedule A" Hiring Authority, which allows individuals
with targeted disabilities to be hired non-competitively into all levels
of leadership (with the position later ideally to be converted from
probationary status to permanent employment).  The article describes
this further.  Also contained in the piece are dozens of national
resources that may assist with efforts to attain gainful employment.

I can tell you from my personal perspective that working in this
Department has been an amazing and fulfilling experience in more ways
than one.  I would like nothing more than for all individuals with
disabilities, who have an interest in joining our ranks, to make
application to available positions for which they qualify  To make this
more of a concerted effort, I am taking the liberty of sending a CC of
this email to Fred Parmenter, an attorney with the Antitrust Division,
who is also the founder and chair of the Attorney General's Committee on
which I sit.  (This Committee first came into being under Attorney
General Reno during the years of the Clinton Administration.)  He may
provide you with additional insight and guidance.

Even if you yourself may not be interested in serving with us here at
the Justice Department, I respectfully urge you to forward this
information far and wide because of the direct difference that may be
made in someone's life as a result.  President Obama has expressed a
commitment to advancing employment opportunities for persons with
disabilities, and our Attorney General has now followed the President's
lead by communicating to all component heads his commitment to advance
Management Directive 715, issued by the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, which affirmatively encourages the recruitment,
hiring, retention, and promotion of persons with disabilities (among
others).  Help us fulfill the goal of greater employment of individuals
with disabilities by ensuring that every community member that you know
ends up receiving this email, and urge them to spread the word still
further.  Encourage posting of this information on websites, on social
networks, on newsgroups, and in online and offline organization and
agency publications.  Help us achieve the goal of our having 2% of our
workforce of more than 100,000 consist of people with disabilities.
Take action immediately so that, together, we may contribute to the
lives of persons with disabilities being changed for the better while
infusing this Department with the richness of talents, abilities, and
skills that will effectively contribute to the Department's mission
being fulfilled in every way.

Thank you very much, and here's to everyone's success!

Sincerely,

Olegario D. Cantos VII, Esq.

Member

Attorney General's Committee on Employment of Persons with Disabilities

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Washington, DC   20530

May 27, 2009

MEMORANDUM FOR HEADS OF DEPARTMENT COMPONENTS

FROM:  THE ATTORNEY GENERAL <Initialed>

SUBJECT: Hiring Goals for Persons with Targeted Disabilities

President Barack Obama has a comprehensive agenda to empower individuals
with

disabilities and enhance access to employment for all Americans. As
Attorney General, I am

committed to making the Department of Justice (DOJ) a model employer
with a diverse

workforce that includes people with disabilities.

The Department, like other Federal agencies, must comply with the Equal
Employment

Opportunity Commission's Management Directive 715, which requires hiring
goals to increase

employment and advancement of people with disabilities. While I
recognize that DOJ's workforce is

comprised of many law enforcement positions that have physical
requirements, I ask that managers,

supervisors, and hiring officials assist me in working toward a
Department-wide two-percent hiring

goal of people with disabilities. If achieved, this goal will align DOJ
with the most successful

agencies in employing individuals with severe disabilities.

The Justice Management Division's (JMD) Human Resources and Equal
Employment

Opportunity Staffs are available to assist you and to provide
information on special hiring

authorities and accommodations for people with disabilities. These
offices also will report

quarterly to me on the Department's progress. If you have any questions
you may contact

Rod Markham, Director, Human Resources Staff, JMD or Vontell D.
Frost-Tucker, Director,

Equal Employment Opportunity Staff, JMD.

President Obama has said, "We must build a world free of unnecessary
barriers,

stereotypes, and discrimination. Policies must be developed, attitudes
must be shaped, and

buildings and organizations must be designed to ensure that everyone has
a chance to get the

education they need and live independently as full citizens in their
communities." I am asking the

DOJ leadership for its pledge to incorporate talented persons with
disabilities into the workplace.

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