North Dakota Protection & Advocacy Project
Current Priorities & Resources: Agency Priorities: Employment
By 2010 it is estimated that there will be ten million more jobs than workers. While our country is looking at a labor shortage, there continues to be a gap in U.S. employment rates. Nationally, approximately 37.7% of working-age individuals (ages 21-64) who report having a disability are employed in comparison to 79.7% of working-age individuals who report no disability and are employed. North Dakota rates better than the national average however, there remains a disparity between working-age individuals who report having a disability and those who report no disability. For more information, go to Cornell University/Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Demographics and Statistics.
SSA, as authorized by the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, awarded Work Incentives Assistance Program grants to the designated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) system in each of the fifty States, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Territories, and the P&A system for Native Americans. SSA's P&A Program, known as Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS), was created to serve Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries who want to work despite their continuing disabilities. The goal of this program is to:
- Assist beneficiaries with disabilities in obtaining information and advice about receiving vocational rehabilitation and employment services.
- Provide advocacy or other related services that beneficiaries with disabilities may need to secure or regain gainful employment.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes what is called The Redbook. This is a general reference tool which provides information about SSA work incentives.
Resources
Client Assistance Program
Assists clients and client applicants of North Dakota Vocational Rehabilitation services, Tribal Vocational
Rehabilitation, or independent living services.
Employment Support for People with Disabilities
SSA's website with information about benefits and work incentives.
Independent Living Services
The purpose of independent living services is to eliminate barriers and provide assistance to individuals with
disabilities so they can live and work more independently in their homes and communities. This site provides links to
the Centers for Independent Living in North Dakota.
Individuals with
Disabilities/Employment Rights
The Rocky Mountain Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC) provides information on the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) to Colorado, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Job Accommodation Network
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, a free consulting service designed to increase the employability of people
with disabilities.
National Disabilities Rights Network
NDRN issue page related to vocational rehabilitation, employment discrimination, and the employment of individuals with
disabilities.
North Dakota Department of Labor
The State agency responsible for enforcing North Dakota labor and human rights laws and for educating the public about
these laws.
Rehab Services, Inc.
A grant project funded by SSA to provide benefit planning assistance and outreach services to individuals in North
Dakota receiving SSI and SSDI.
Rehabilitation and Consulting Services
The North Dakota division of the Department of Human Services that provides training and employment services to
individuals with disabilities.
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The Federal laws prohibiting job discrimination are:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
- The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), which protects men and women who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment from sex-based wage discrimination.
- The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older.
- Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which prohibit employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in the private sector and in state and local governments.
- Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities who work in the federal government.
- The Civil Rights Act of 1991, which, among other things, provides monetary damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces all of these laws. EEOC also provides oversight and coordination of all federal equal employment opportunity regulations, practices, and policies.
Work Incentives Support Center/Policy and Practice
Briefs
A series of briefs published by Cornell University on vocational related issues.
