The National Governor’s Association (NGA) invited HLAA to join with other advocates for people with disabilities for a briefing on employment and people with disabilities. The NGA initiative, A Better Bottom Line: Employing People with Disabilities will focus barriers to employment for people with disabilities. The initiative will address the roles that both state government and business can play in supporting employment for people with disabilities.

HLAA is pleased to be able to bring the perspective of people with hearing loss to the National Governor’s Association.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reported a Title I settlement agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with the Illinois State Police to eliminate policies that automatically exclude cadet job applicants who use hearing aids or who manage their diabetes with insulin pumps has also been added and is now available. 

For more news from the U.S. Department of Justice regarding the ADA, visit http://www.ada.gov/new.htm

WASHINGTON — On September 27, 2011, the U.S. Department of Labor announced $21,166,560 for seven states under the Disability Employment Initiative to improve education, training, and employment opportunities and outcomes for youth and adults who are unemployed, underemployed and/or receiving Social Security disability benefits. The initiative is jointly funded and administered by the department’s Employment and Training Administration and its Office of Disability Employment Policy.

In an article published June 19, 2011, (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/20/nyregion/ny-enforces-ban-on-police-officers-using-hearing-aids.html ) the New York Times reported the New York City police department has banned the use of hearing aids on the job. Two officers who were forced to retire because they did wear hearing aids on the job have filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), saying that the policy is discriminatory toward people with hearing loss.