Governor Hochul Launches First Annual New York State Disability Rights and Employment Awareness Month

 

Symposium and Virtual Job Fair to Feature State Agencies, Private Employers and Non-Profit Organizations Committed to Hiring People with Disabilities

Governor Issues Proclamation Designating October as Disability Rights and Employment Awareness Month

Legislation (S.7578-C/A.8549-C) Enables the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities To Establish Voluntary Training and Certification Program for Employers That Hire People With Disabilities

Legislation (A.8915-B/S.7746-B) Creates a New Threshold for What Percentage of a Preferred Source Contract Must Be Performed by New Yorkers With Disabilities

 Governor Kathy Hochul today launched New York's first annual Disability Rights and Employment Awareness Month Symposium, featuring both a full day event consisting of a vendor fair, workshops, entertainment and award presentations, and will also offer an online job fair aimed at highlighting the state's commitment to supporting the rights of people with disabilities in the workplace next Tuesday, October 11. Governor Hochul also signed legislation (S.7578-C/A.8549-C) that will enable the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities to establish a voluntary training and certification program for employers that hire people with disabilities; and another law (A.8915-B/S.7746-B) that creates a new threshold for what percentage of a preferred source contract must be performed by New Yorkers with disabilities.    

"For the New York Dream to be a reality, we must continue making our state inclusive, integrated and accessible for all," Governor Hochul said. "Disability Rights and Employment Awareness Month recognizes how far we've come toward this end and a realization that there is more work to be done to expand the rights of people with disabilities and ensure they have the same opportunities in the workforce as all New Yorkers."   

The Governor also issued a proclamation launching the first annual Disability Rights and Employment Awareness Month and the 'DREAM' Symposium, aimed at acknowledging the rights of New York's disability community, including the right to equal employment opportunities. The two-day event that began today featured an in-person vendor fair with more than 70 private, public and not-for-profit organizations and will continue next Tuesday with a virtual job fair consisting of more than 100 businesses interested in hiring people with disabilities and almost 8,000 job openings.     

The symposium featured four workshops related to employing people with disabilities:   

• The ABLE Program in New York State 
• An Overview of OPWDD's Proposed 5.07 Plan - 2023-2027  
• New York State's Civil Service 55 B & C Programs 
• Work Incentives for People with Disabilities 

Also as part of the symposium, the state recognized the achievements of two advocates whose work has helped ensure that people with disabilities are served in the most inclusive, integrated and accessible manner possible to meet their needs. Brad Williams, the executive director of the New York State Independent Living Council, was given the DREAM Lifetime Advocacy Achievement Award, while Kristin Booth Glen, a retired university professor and dean emerita at CUNY School of Law, was presented with the DREAM 2022 Advocate Award. The event also featured FLAME the Band, a group of musicians with disabilities who performed at the Empire State Plaza Concourse.

In advance of the symposium, Governor Hochul signed legislation (S.7578-C/A.8549-C) that directs the state Office for People With Developmental Disabilities to establish a voluntary training and certification program for employers that have taken the agency's EmployAbility pledge. The voluntary training program will promote techniques and strategies employers can implement to increase diversity through hiring of people with disabilities.