DOJ Actively Seeking Qualified Job Candidates with Disabilities

DOJ Actively Seeking Qualified Job Candidates with Disabilities – Detailed Info Packet

TRANSCRIPT

Hi. This is Ollie Cantos, Member of the Attorney General’s Committee for the Employment of People with Disabilities. Several weeks ago, I sent out a mailing, announcing a call by Attorney General Eric Holder to all Department of Justice components to hire additional qualified individuals with disabilities, with the ultimate goal of our workforce reflecting an employment level of 2% to consist of members of the disability community. Since that time, Attorney General Holder has met with our Committee, which reports directly to him, to reiterate his support for this effort.

Over the course of the past several weeks, the Committee, under the direction of Chairperson Fred Parmenter and in close conjunction with Vontell Frost-Tucker, Director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Staff under the Department’s Justice Management Division, has been collecting applications from interested individuals with disabilities, who are eager to join the Department.

To help build our momentum still further, this email has been put together in order to assist in enabling members of the disability community to learn of specific job vacancies, retain a copy of the Attorney General’s original directive for future reference and use, learn of various other employment-related resources, and read a letter that has been issued by the National Council on Disability (the independent federal agency making recommendations to Congress and the President on disability policies and programs), in response to the Attorney General’s leadership in setting the tone for future recruitment, hiring, retention, and advancement practices within a disability context.

In addition to completing application paperwork as part of the standard process, those who self-identify as having a disability (potentially making them eligible to be brought on board via “Schedule A” hiring authority) may call me at (202) 514-8191 and/or email me at [email protected] for further instructions regarding what may be done to optimize consideration for employment.

Whether you are a person with a disability or are networked with others who are, please forward this email far and wide in order to maximize opportunities for people with disabilities to become an integral part of our Justice Department team by filling jobs for which they are individually qualified.

Thank you so very much for all your help in getting the word out. Your efforts will most definitely make a real difference in people’s lives.

This email contains the following items:

1. How to Identify and Apply for Job Vacancies within the U.S. Department of Justice

2. Memorandum from Attorney General Eric Holder to All Department Components, dated May 27, 2009 (PDF also attached)

3. “A Systematic Approach to Arming Students and Job Seekers with Disabilities and their Advocates in Securing Meaningful Employment”

4. Letter from National Council on Disability Chairperson John R. Vaughn to Attorney General Eric Holder, Dated June 23, 2009

Supplementing these items, for information about ?Schedule A? Hiring Authority, which proactively facilitates expeditious hiring of individuals with disabilities into the Federal Government at all levels, it is important to download, read, and distribute important publications that have been put together by the Leading in the Employment of Americans with Disabilities (LEAD) Initiative of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. These brief but powerful educational materials are individually geared toward Federal Government hiring managers, human resources professionals, and disability program managers as well as service providers and job applicants with disabilities themselves. These are found on a page of the Job Accommodation Network at:

http://www.jan.wvu.edu/lead

In addition, the Federal Disability Workforce Consortium, a dedicated cadre of agency representatives from throughout the Federal Government, stands ready to be of assistance as well. For further information and details, Visit:

http://www.fdwc.info

Best of luck to all those who are endeavoring to secure opportunities for gainful employment!

ITEM 1

HOW TO IDENTIFY AND APPLY FOR JOB VACANCIES WITHIN THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Department of Justice agencies post vacancy announcements directly on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s USAJobs Web site where you can search by location, job series, or DOJ agency. This link goes to current Department of Justice vacancies:

http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/a9dj.asp

Here are some additional important links:

Opportunities for Law Students
http://www.usdoj.gov/oarm/oppls.htm

Attorney Vacancies
http://www.usdoj.gov/oarm/attvacancies.html

Apply for a Job at the FBI
http://www.fbijobs.gov/03.asp

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives ?Vacancy Announcements
http://www.atf.gov/careers/index.htm

Civil Division
http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/Employment.htm

Civil Rights Division
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/recruit.php

Criminal Division
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/employment/vacancies.html

Environmental and Natural Resources Division
http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/ENRD_Employment.html

Executive Office for United States Attorneys
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/employment/index.html

National Security Division
http://www.usdoj.gov/nsd/employment.htm

Office of the Inspector General
http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/jobs.htm

Office of Justice Programs
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/about/jobs.htm

Tax Division
http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/vacancies.htm

U.S. Trustees
http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/private_trustee/vacancies/

Job-seekers may Become a My USAJobs Member to post and create a resume, apply to Federal Government jobs, and receive automated job alerts via the Office of Personnel Management’s USAJobs site. See:

https://my.usajobs.gov/login.aspx?redirect=https%3a%2f%2fmy.usajobs.gov%2fhome.aspx

Note: Where agencies offer electronic submission of job applications, job-seekers may submit their resume electronically. Where electronic submission is not offered, they may use this site to create a resume, and mail it to the address listed in the vacancy announcement.

ITEM 2

MEMORANDUM FROM ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER TO ALL DEPARTMENT COMPONENTS,

DATED MAY 27, 2009
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Washington, DC 20530
May 27, 2009

MEMORANDUM FOR HEADS OF DEPARTMENT COMPONENTS

FROM: THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
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.

ITEM 3

A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO ARMING

STUDENTS AND JOB SEEKERS WITH DISABILITIES AND

THEIR ADVOCATES IN SECURING

MEANINGFUL EMPLOYMENT

Introduction

Disability will touch the lives of most Americans at some point during their lives either through firsthand experience or acquaintance with someone who has a disability. Census figures indicate that, in 2002, more than one in six Americans had a disability involving limitations in seeing, hearing, speaking, walking, learning, or undertaking other major functions central to daily life.

As career and guidance counselors, vocational rehabilitation professionals, social service providers, for-profit headhunting firms and career placement organizations, federal government officials, governors? committees on people with disabilities, disability rights advocates, and others seek to empower students and job seekers with disabilities to maximize employment opportunities available to them and as people with disabilities themselves are armed with the tools they need to succeed in the workplace, of utmost importance is the need effectively to understand both the social context within which members of the disability community must be viewed and the various support network elements that have been put into place to enable them to reach their full economic potential. A working comprehension of these concepts will allow stakeholders to know how to utilize a myriad of approaches which, when examined either alone or in their aggregate, will lead to actual employment outc
omes for people with disabilities.

ITEM 4

LETTER FROM NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY CHAIRPERSON JOHN R. VAUGHN TO

ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER

June 23, 2009
Honorable Eric Holder
Attorney General
Department of Justice
Washington, DC

Dear Mr. Holder:

The National Council on Disability (NCD) was recently advised of your department-wide memorandum concerning efforts to increase the employment of people with disabilities within the federal government, and the members have asked me to extend our thanks for your support of this effort. We hope that you will be able to reach the goal of making the Department of Justice (DOJ) an ideal model for other agencies to follow.

The Department, like other Federal agencies, must comply with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Management Directive 715, which requires the establishment of hiring goals to increase employment and advancement of people with disabilities. We have learned over time that an endorsement at the top level of management will make that more likely to occur.

As you know, the National Council on Disability is a small independent agency composed of 15 members appointed by the President, by and with the consent of the U.S. Senate. NCD?s purpose is to promote policies, programs, practices, and procedures that guarantee equal opportunity for all individuals with disabilities, and that empower individuals with disabilities to achieve economic self-sufficiency, independent living, and inclusion and integration into all aspects of society. To carry out this mandate we gather public and stakeholder input, including that received at our public meetings held around the country; review and evaluate federal programs and legislation; and provide the President, Congress, and federal agencies with advice and recommendations.

On March 31, 2009, NCD issued a report on federal employment of people with disabilities (http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2009/Federal_Employment_of_People_with_Disabilities.doc), which pointed out that the current level of such employment is unsatisfactory and has prevented many highly qualified individuals from contributing to our economy and gaining the independence they need and deserve. DOJ and NCD both employ many people with disabilities, but thousands more will be needed in departments and agencies throughout government to reach the 2% employment goals currently established by President Obama. We encourage DOJ to go beyond those goals by employing or appointing people with disabilities to positions of great responsibility within your executive management structure. We can tell you from past experience that such an investment will pay off many times over.

On behalf of the Council, thank you again for taking a position of leadership on this matter and please advise if we can assist in any way. NCD staff have worked closely with the DOJ Civil Rights Division on several matters of common interest, and look forward to joint opportunities to continue protecting the rights of people with disabilities in the future.

We also hope that DOJ will consider joining us and co-hosting the National Summit on Disability Policy that will take place in Washington on the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26 and 27, 2010. If you would like to learn more about that opportunity, or discuss any of the above, please contact NCD Executive Director Michael Collins at 202-272-2004 or via e-mail at [email protected].

I look forward to an opportunity to meet you during one of my future visits to Washington, and thanks again.

Sincerely,
John R. Vaughn
Chairperson, National Council on Disability

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