October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month

National Disability Employment Awareness Month is celebrated each October to educate communities about disability employment issues and embrace the many and varied contributions of America’s workers with disabilities. 

NDEAM is a reminder a diverse workforce includes individuals with sensory, physical, and mental conditions. 

This year’s theme is “America’s Workforce: Empowering All.”

Michael Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of State said, “U.S. workers are the engine of our economy. Our country is stronger and more prosperous because employers utilize the immense talents of individuals with disabilities, including disabled veterans.”

Provided below are a few facts of the fight for equality among people with disabilities:

a. In 1945, President Harry S. Truman approved a Congressional resolution declaring the first week in October “National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week”.

b. The word “physically” was removed in 1962 to include individuals with all types of disabilities.

c. In the 1950s, veterans with disabilities and other people with disabilities began the barrier-free movement. The combined efforts of the U.S. Veterans Administration, the President’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped and the National Easter Seals Society, among others, result in the development of national standards for “barrier-free” buildings.

d. In 1988, Congress expanded the week to a month and changed the name to “National Disability Employment Awareness Month.”

We all play an important part in fostering a more inclusive workforce, one where every person is recognized for his or her abilities — every day of every month.

For more information on NDEAM, visit www.dol.gov/ndeam.