For example, Executive  Order 13548 requires federal agencies to develop plans for hiring and  retaining employees with disabilities and to designate a senior-level  official to be accountable for meeting the goals of the order and to  develop and implement the agency’s plan. Participants said that the most significant barrier keeping people with  disabilities from the workplace is attitudinal and identified eight leading  practices that agencies could implement to help the federal government  become a model employer:  (1)  top leadership commitment;  (2)  accountability, including goals to help guide and sustain efforts;  (3)  regular surveying of the workforce on disability issues;  (4)  better coordination within and across agencies;  (5)  training for staff at all levels to disseminate leading practices  (6)  career development opportunities inclusive of people with  (7)  a flexible work environment; and  (8)  centralized funding at the agency level for reasonable  accommodations. OPM and Labor Have Taken Steps to Implement the Executive Order, but Further Action Is Needed to Meet Hiring Goals

		OPM Helped Agencies Develop Plans to Employ More Individuals with Disabilities, Yet Many Plans Lacked Required Elements and Have Not Been Corrected

OPM, in consultation with EEOC, OMB, and Labor, issued a  memorandum in November 2010 to heads of executive departments and  agencies outlining the key requirements of the executive order and what  elements must be included in agency disability hiring plans. 1). For example,  OPM found that 40 of the 66 agency plans included a process for  increasing the use of Schedule A to increase the hiring of people with  disabilities. However, 32 out of the 59 agencies with  deficiencies in their plans had not addressed them as of April 2012. In response to the executive order’s reporting  requirement, OPM officials told us that they had briefed White House  officials on issues related to agencies’ implementation of the executive  order, but did not provide information on the deficiencies in all of the  agency plans. While the executive order did not provide additional detail as to what  information should be reported, providing information on the extent to  which agencies’ plans have met OPM’s criteria would better enable the  White House to hold agencies accountable for addressing plan  deficiencies. Goals such as these are useful tools to help agencies improve  performance. Selected Agencies Have Plans in Place to Hire and Retain Employees with Disabilities and Have Adopted Many Leading Practices

		Agencies Are Implementing Plans to Improve Hiring and Retention of Employees with Disabilities

Each of the four agencies we reviewed submitted a plan for implementing  the executive order as required. In particular, Education, SSA, and VA said that the  executive order provided an opportunity to further develop the written  plans they already had in place for hiring and retaining employees with  disabilities. Officials at all  of the agencies we interviewed cited funding constraints as a potential  obstacle to hiring more employees with disabilities. Agencies Have Taken Steps to Implement Leading Practices for Increasing Employment of Individuals with Disabilities

In October 2010, we reported on eight leading practices that could help  the federal government become a model employer for individuals with  disabilities. Leaders at the agencies we  talked with have, to varying degrees, communicated their commitment to  hiring and retaining individuals with disabilities to their employees. Education, SSA and VA’s disability hiring  plans all include goals that will allow them to measure their progress  toward meeting the goals of the executive order. In addition, each agency has a single office or  primary point of contact that is responsible for overseeing activities  related to hiring and retaining employees with disabilities. They also require managers and  supervisors to take training on hiring procedures related to individuals  with disabilities, and the use of Schedule A hiring authority. Education, SSA, and VA  use centralized funding accounts to pay for reasonable accommodations  for employees with disabilities. Unreliable data hinder OPM’s ability to  measure the population of federal workers with disabilities and may  prevent the federal government from developing needed policies and  procedures that support efforts to become a model employer of people  with disabilities. Incorporate information about plan deficiencies into its regular  reporting to the president on agencies’ progress in implementing their  plans, and inform agencies about this process to better ensure that  the plan deficiencies are addressed. 2. Expedite the development of the mandatory training programs for  hiring managers and human resource personnel on the employment  of individuals with disabilities, as required by the executive order. Assess the extent to which the SF-256 accurately measures progress  toward the executive order’s goal and explore options for improving  the accuracy of SF-256 reporting, if needed, including strategies for  encouraging employees to voluntarily disclose their disability status.
Why GAO Did This Study

In July 2010, the president signed Executive Order 13548 committing the federal government to become a model employer of individuals with disabilities and assigned primary oversight responsibilities to OPM and Labor. According to OPM, the federal government is not on track to meet the goals of the executive order, which committed the federal government to hire 100,000 workers with disabilities over the next 5 years. GAO was asked to examine the efforts that (1) OPM and Labor have made in overseeing federal efforts to implement the executive order; and (2) selected agencies have taken to implement the executive order and to adopt leading practices for hiring and retaining employees with disabilities. To conduct this work, GAO reviewed relevant agency documents and interviewed appropriate agency officials. GAO conducted case studies at Education, SSA, VA, and OMB.

What GAO Found

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Department of Labor (Labor) have taken steps to implement the executive order and help agencies recruit, hire, and retain more employees with disabilities. OPM provided guidance to help agencies develop disability hiring plans and reviewed the 66 plans submitted. OPM identified deficiencies in most of the plans. For example, though 40 of 66 agencies included a process for increasing the use of a special hiring authority to increase the hiring of people with disabilities, 59 agencies did not meet all of OPMs review criteria, and 32 agencies had not addressed plan deficiencies as of April 2012. In response to executive order reporting requirements, OPM officials said they had briefed the White House on issues related to implementation, but they did not provide information on deficiencies in all plans. While the order does not specify what information these reports should include beyond addressing progress, providing information on deficiencies would enable the White House to hold agencies accountable. OPM is still developing the mandatory training programs for officials on the employment of individuals with disabilities, as required by the executive order. Several elective training efforts exist to help agencies hire and retain employees with disabilities, but agency officials said that more information would help them better use available tools. To track and measure progress towards meeting the executive orders goals, OPM relies on employees to voluntarily disclose a disability. Yet, agency officials, including OPMs, are concerned about the quality of the data. For example, agency officials noted that people may not disclose their disability due to concerns about how the information may be used. Without quality data, agencies may be challenged to effectively implement and assess the impact of their disability hiring plans.
The Department of Education (Education), Social Security Administration (SSA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) submitted disability hiring plans, and have taken steps to implement leading practices for increasing employment of individuals with disabilities, such as demonstrating top leadership commitment. The executive order provided SSA, VA, and Education an opportunity to further develop existing written plans. However, officials at these agencies cited funding constraints as a potential obstacle to hiring more employees with disabilities. In terms of leading practices, all four agencies have communicated their commitment to hiring and retaining individuals with disabilities and coordinated within or across other agencies to improve their recruitment and retention efforts. For example, each agency has a single point of contact to help ensure that employees with disabilities have access to information that is comparable to that provided to those without disabilities, and for overseeing activities related to hiring and retaining employees with disabilities. In addition, VA holds senior managers accountable for meeting hiring goals by including targets in their contracts. Each agency requires training for managers and supervisors on procedures for hiring individuals with disabilities, and VA further requires that all employees receive training on the legal rights of individuals with disabilities. Education, SSA, and VA rely on centralized funding accounts to pay for reasonable accommodations.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that OPM: (1) incorporate information about plan deficiencies into its required regular reporting to the president on implementing the executive order and inform agencies about this process; (2) expedite the development of the mandatory training programs required by the executive order; and (3) assess the accuracy of the data used to measure progress toward the executive orders goals and, if needed, explore options for improving its ability to measure the population of federal employees with disabilities, including strategies for encouraging employees to voluntarily disclose disability status. OPM agreed with GAOs recommendations.