Full Text of HR0921 98th General Assembly
HR0921 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Despite nearly 25 years of the Americans with | 3 | | Disabilities Act, people with disabilities continue to face | 4 | | barriers to equal opportunity in employment; in 2011, the | 5 | | employment rate of adults with disabilities was 33.4%, as | 6 | | compared to 75.6% for others; the full-time/full-year | 7 | | employment rate for people with disabilities was 20.7%, as | 8 | | compared with 55.5% for others; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, On August 27, 2013 the United States Department of | 10 | | Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs | 11 | | announced a final rule to the regulations implementing Section | 12 | | 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Section 503 prohibits federal contractors and | 14 | | subcontractors from discriminating in employment against | 15 | | individuals with disabilities, and requires these employers to | 16 | | take affirmative action to recruit, hire, promote, and retain | 17 | | these individuals; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, The final rule strengthens the affirmative action | 19 | | provisions of the regulations to aid contractors in their | 20 | | efforts to recruit and hire individuals with disabilities, | 21 | | improves job opportunities for individuals with disabilities | 22 | | and makes changes to the nondiscrimination provisions of the |
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| 1 | | regulations to bring them into compliance with the Americans | 2 | | with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, The final rule sets a workforce goal of 7% for | 4 | | individuals with disabilities; this requirement is not a quota, | 5 | | but a way to ensure that contractors include disability in | 6 | | their strategies around recruitment and hiring; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, The final rule also includes provisions to invite | 8 | | applicants and existing employees to voluntarily self-identify | 9 | | as a person with a disability at both the job-application stage | 10 | | and after a job offer has been made; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The final rule requires that contractors document | 12 | | and update annually several qualitative comparisons for the | 13 | | number of individuals with disabilities who apply for jobs and | 14 | | the number of individuals with disabilities they hire; having | 15 | | this data will assist contractors in measuring the | 16 | | effectiveness of their outreach and recruitment efforts; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, The final rule also brings the Section 503 | 18 | | regulations into compliance with the Americans with | 19 | | Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 which expanded the | 20 | | definition of disability, and calls for employers to review | 21 | | their policies and practices to ensure they are in compliance | 22 | | with the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008; |
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| 1 | | and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Illinois has continually been a leader in ensuring | 3 | | that individuals with disabilities have access to job | 4 | | opportunities and full-time employment with an employment rate | 5 | | of working age individuals with disabilities continually | 6 | | higher than that of the national average; therefore, be it
| 7 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 8 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 9 | | we commend the U.S. Department of Labor for its rule changes to | 10 | | Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and be it | 11 | | further
| 12 | | RESOLVED, That the State of Illinois will encourage and | 13 | | assist federal contractors and subcontractors in the hiring of | 14 | | individuals with disabilities; and be it further | 15 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be sent | 16 | | to U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Thomas Perez.
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