[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 52 (Wednesday, March 18, 1998)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 13111-13113]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-7139]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 52 / Wednesday, March 18, 1998 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 13111]]

                Executive Order 13078 of March 13, 1998

                
Increasing Employment of Adults With Disabilities

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, and in order to increase the employment of 
                adults with disabilities to a rate that is as close as 
                possible to the employment rate of the general adult 
                population and to support the goals articulated in the 
                findings and purpose section of the Americans with 
                Disabilities Act of 1990, it is hereby ordered as 
                follows:

                Section 1. Establishment of National Task Force on 
                Employment of Adults with Disabilities.

                    (a) There is established the ``National Task Force 
                on Employment of Adults with Disabilities'' (``Task 
                Force''). The Task Force shall comprise the Secretary 
                of Labor, Secretary of Education, Secretary of Veterans 
                Affairs, Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
                Commissioner of Social Security, Secretary of the 
                Treasury, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of 
                Transportation, Director of the Office of Personnel 
                Management, Administrator of the Small Business 
                Administration, the Chair of the Equal Employment 
                Opportunity Commission, the Chairperson of the National 
                Council on Disability, the Chair of the President's 
                Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, 
                and such other senior executive branch officials as may 
                be determined by the Chair of the Task Force.
                    (b) The Secretary of Labor shall be the Chair of 
                the Task Force; the Chair of the President's Committee 
                on Employment of People with Disabilities shall be the 
                Vice Chair of the Task Force.
                    (c) The purpose of the Task Force is to create a 
                coordinated and aggressive national policy to bring 
                adults with disabilities into gainful employment at a 
                rate that is as close as possible to that of the 
                general adult population. The Task Force shall develop 
                and recommend to the President, through the Chair of 
                the Task Force, a coordinated Federal policy to reduce 
                employment barriers for persons with disabilities. 
                Policy recommendations may cover such areas as 
                discrimination, reasonable accommodations, inadequate 
                access to health care, lack of consumer-driven, long-
                term supports and services, transportation, accessible 
                and integrated housing, telecommunications, assistive 
                technology, community services, child care, education, 
                vocational rehabilitation, training services, job 
                retention, on-the-job supports, and economic incentives 
                to work. Specifically, the Task Force shall:
                    L(1) analyze the existing programs and policies of 
                Task Force member agencies to determine what changes, 
                modifications, and innovations may be necessary to 
                remove barriers to work faced by people with 
                disabilities;
                    L(2) develop and recommend options to address 
                health insurance coverage as a barrier to employment 
                for people with disabilities;
                    L(3) subject to the availability of appropriations, 
                analyze State and private disability systems (e.g., 
                workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, private 
                insurance, and State mental health and mental 
                retardation systems) and their effect on Federal 
                programs and employment of adults with disabilities;
                    L(4) consider statistical and data analysis, cost 
                data, research, and policy studies on public subsidies, 
                employment, employment discrimination, and rates of 
                return-to-work for individuals with disabilities;

[[Page 13112]]

                    L(5) evaluate and, where appropriate, coordinate 
                and collaborate on, research and demonstration 
                priorities of Task Force member agencies related to 
                employment of adults with disabilities;
                    L(6) evaluate whether Federal studies related to 
                employment and training can, and should, include a 
                statistically significant sample of adults with 
                disabilities;
                    L(7) subject to the availability of appropriations, 
                analyze youth programs related to employment (e.g., 
                Employment and Training Administration programs, 
                special education, vocational rehabilitation, school-
                to-work transition, vocational education, and Social 
                Security Administration work incentives and other 
                programs, as may be determined by the Chair and Vice 
                Chair of the Task Force) and the outcomes of those 
                programs for young people with disabilities;
                    L(8) evaluate whether a single governmental entity 
                or program should be established to provide computer 
                and electronic accommodations for Federal employees 
                with disabilities;
                    L(9) consult with the President's Committee on 
                Mental Retardation on policies to increase the 
                employment of people with mental retardation and 
                cognitive disabilities; and
                    L(10) recommend to the President any additional 
                steps that can be taken to advance the employment of 
                adults with disabilities, including legislative 
                proposals, regulatory changes, and program and budget 
                initiatives.
                    (d)(1) The members of the Task Force shall make the 
                activities and initiatives set forth in this order a 
                high priority within their respective agencies within 
                the levels provided in the President's budget.
                    (2) The Task Force shall issue its first report to 
                the President by November 15, 1998. The Task Force 
                shall issue a report to the President on November 15, 
                1999, November 15, 2000, and a final report on July 26, 
                2002, the 10th anniversary of the initial 
                implementation of the employment provisions of the 
                Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The reports 
                shall describe the actions taken by, and progress of, 
                each member of the Task Force in carrying out this 
                order. The Task Force shall terminate 30 days after 
                submitting its final report.
                    (e) As used herein, an adult with a disability is a 
                person with a physical or mental impairment that 
                substantially limits at least one major life activity.

                Sec. 2. Specific activities by Task Force members and 
                other agencies.

                    (a) To ensure that the Federal Government is a 
                model employer of adults with disabilities, by November 
                15, 1998, the Office of Personnel Management, the 
                Department of Labor, and the Equal Employment 
                Opportunity Commission shall submit to the Task Force a 
                review of Federal Government personnel laws, 
                regulations, and policies and, as appropriate, shall 
                recommend or implement changes necessary to improve 
                Federal employment policy for adults with disabilities. 
                This review shall include personnel practices and 
                actions such as: hiring, promotion, benefits, 
                retirement, workers' compensation, retention, 
                accessible facilities, job accommodations, layoffs, and 
                reductions in force.
                    (b) The Departments of Justice, Labor, Education, 
                and Health and Human Services shall report to the Task 
                Force by November 15, 1998, on their work with the 
                States and others to ensure that the Personal 
                Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act 
                is carried out in accordance with section 504 of the 
                Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and the 
                Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, so that 
                individuals with disabilities and their families can 
                realize the full promise of welfare reform by having an 
                equal opportunity for employment.
                    (c) The Departments of Education, Labor, Commerce, 
                and Health and Human Services, the Small Business 
                Administration, and the President's Committee on 
                Employment of People with Disabilities shall work 
                together and report to the Task Force by November 15, 
                1998, on their work to

[[Page 13113]]

                develop small business and entrepreneurial 
                opportunities for adults with disabilities and 
                strategies for assisting low-income adults, including 
                those with disabilities to create small businesses and 
                micro-enterprises. These same agencies, in consultation 
                with the Committee for Purchase from People Who Are 
                Blind or Severely Disabled, shall assess the impact of 
                the Randolph-Sheppard Act vending program and the 
                Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act on employment and small 
                business opportunities for people with disabilities.
                    (d) The Departments of Transportation and Housing 
                and Urban Development shall report to the Task Force by 
                November 15, 1998, on their examination of their 
                programs to see if they can be used to create new work 
                incentives and to remove barriers to work for adults 
                with disabilities.
                    (e) The Departments of Justice, Education, and 
                Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and 
                the Social Security Administration shall work together 
                and report to the Task Force by November 15, 1998, on 
                their work to propose remedies to the prevention of 
                people with disabilities from successfully exercising 
                their employment rights under the Americans with 
                Disabilities Act of 1990 because of the receipt of 
                monetary benefits based on their disability and lack of 
                gainful employment.
                    (f) The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the 
                Department of Labor and the Census Bureau of the 
                Department of Commerce, in cooperation with the 
                Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, 
                the National Council on Disability, and the President's 
                Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities 
                shall design and implement a statistically reliable and 
                accurate method to measure the employment rate of 
                adults with disabilities as soon as possible, but no 
                later than the date of termination of the Task Force. 
                Data derived from this methodology shall be published 
                on as frequent a basis as possible.
                    (g) All executive agencies that are not members of 
                the Task Force shall: (1) coordinate and cooperate with 
                the Task Force; and (2) review their programs and 
                policies to ensure that they are being conducted and 
                delivered in a manner that facilitates and promotes the 
                employment of adults with disabilities. Each agency 
                shall file a report with the Task Force on the results 
                of its review on November 15, 1998.

                Sec. 3. Cooperation. All efforts taken by executive 
                departments and agencies under sections 1 and 2 of this 
                order shall, as appropriate, further partnerships and 
                cooperation with public and private sector employers, 
                organizations that represent people with disabilities, 
                organized labor, veteran service organizations, and 
                State and local governments whenever such partnerships 
                and cooperation are possible and would promote the 
                employment and gainful economic activities of 
                individuals with disabilities.

                Sec. 4. Judicial Review. This order does not create any 
                right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law by a party against the United 
                States, its agencies, its officers, or any person.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    March 13, 1998.

[FR Doc. 98-7139
Filed 3-17-98; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P