Hiring The Disabled

Agencies are hiring more people with disabilities but risk falling short of a goal set by President Barack Obama. This week marks the two-year anniversary of the president's executive order directing agencies to hire about 20,000 more people with disabilities a year over five years. Agencies did better last year than in 2010. About one in six new hires were people with disabilities. Still agencies would have to hire even more workers with disabilities in the next three years to meet the goal. Assistant Secretary of Labor Kathy Martinez said fear is one of the biggest hiring barriers. Managers do not know how a person with disabilities can perform a job even if they're qualified, she said.