[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 11 (Monday, March 16, 1998)]
[Pages 431-434]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Executive Order 13078--Increasing Employment of Adults With Disabilities

March 13, 1998

    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,

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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:
(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;
(2)         develop and recommend options to address health insurance 
            coverage as a barrier to employment for people with 
            disabilities;
(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;
(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;
(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;
(6)         evaluate whether Federal studies related to employment and 
            training can, and should, include a statistically 
            significant sample of adults with disabilities;
(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;
(8)         evaluate whether a single governmental entity or program 
            should be established to provide computer and electronic 
            accommodations for Federal employees with disabilities;
(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
(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

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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 
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 more disabilities as soon as possible, but not 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

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against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or any person.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
March 13, 1998

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., March 17, 
1998]

Note: This Executive order will be published in the Federal Register on 
March 18.