Highlights of a Forum: Participant-Identified Leading Practices That Could Increase the Employment of Individuals with Disabilities in the Federal Workforce

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehabilitation Act) requires agencies to take proactive steps to provide equal opportunity to qualified individuals with disabilities, but their rate of employment with the Federal government remains low. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) convened a forum to identify promising practices for Federal agencies to implement in helping better identify barriers to the employment of people with disabilities in the Federal workforce. Of the attendees, participants noted the most significant barrier keeping people with disabilities from the workplace is based on people’s attitudes and bias toward people with disabilities.