The report found that four variables were significantly associated with fewer voluntary separations of PWD at Federal agencies in FY 2020. Image: Robert Kneschke/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffFollowing is the summary of an EEOC report on steps agencies should take to reduce turnover of persons with disabilities in the federal workplace, which is higher than for persons without disabilities, and especially so for those with certain more severe, “targeted” disabilities.
By law, Federal agencies are required to take steps to improve the retention of persons with disabilities. Previous research from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) established that persons with disabilities (PWD) have lower retention rates in the Federal sector than persons without disabilities (PWOD). However, limited research has empirically identified promising practices to improve equal employment opportunities (EEO) and retention for PWD.
In this report, EEOC researchers used three years of data from EEOC Management Directive 715 (MD-715) Reports. The analysis examined the relationship between PWD retention in fiscal year (FY) 2020 and 156 practices required for Federal agencies to have model EEO programs. By examining a wide number of practices, the EEOC aimed to identify the practices that are most promising for improving PWD retention.
Main Findings
This report found that four variables were significantly associated with fewer voluntary separations of PWD at Federal agencies in FY 2020:
• Having established disability reasonable accommodation (RA) procedures that comply with the EEOC’s regulations and guidance in FY 2020.
• Posting procedures for processing requests for personal assistance services (PAS) on the agency’s public website in FY 2019.
• Having established procedures for processing requests for PAS that comply with EEOC’s regulations, enforcement guidance, and other applicable executive orders, guidance, and standards in FY 2020.
• Posting procedures for processing PAS requests on the agency’s public website in FY 2020.
These findings support EEOC regulations that define compliant RA procedures. The findings also support the EEOC’s 2017 final rule, Affirmative Action for Individuals with Disabilities in the Federal Government, which requires Federal agencies to provide PAS to eligible persons with disabilities.
Main Recommendations
Based on these findings, the EEOC recommends that:
• Federal agencies should ensure that they have established compliant RA procedures.
• Federal agencies should ensure that they have established compliant procedures for processing PAS requests.
• Federal agencies should ensure that procedures for processing PAS requests are publicized to their employees and applicants on their public website.
• Employers nationwide should provide RA and PAS to improve EEO for PWD.
Future research should use similar methods to identify promising practices for improving EEO for persons in other protected categories and for other employment outcomes. The results of such research should be considered in any updates to the requirements for a model EEO program found in MD-715. The EEOC will continue to identify and promote promising practices to help employers create more equitable workplaces.
Legal Background
For about five decades, Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 has protected persons with disabilities (PWD) from discrimination in Federal sector employment. The Rehabilitation Act also ensures that the Federal Government implements affirmative action plans and policies within their offices for PWD. By implementing these measures, the Federal Government strives to be a model employer. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 also allows the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to issue “such rules, regulations, orders and instructions as it deems necessary and appropriate” to carry out its Federal sector equal employment opportunity (EEO) responsibilities.
Initially, the Rehabilitation Act only focused on “hiring, placement, and advancement.” More recently, retaining persons with disabilities has become a priority. In 2010, President Obama signed Executive Order 13548 establishing that Federal agencies must be model employers and improve the retention of persons with disabilities.
Furthermore, in 2017, the EEOC issued a final rule, Affirmative Action for Individuals with Disabilities in the Federal Government. That final rule strengthened regulations to enhance the recruitment, hiring, advancement, and retention of qualified individuals with disabilities in the Federal Government. The rule requires Federal agencies to strengthen reasonable accommodation programs, ensure accessibility, and provide personal assistance services (PAS) for eligible persons with disabilities. It also requires Federal agencies to set a goal of having 12 percent of their workforces be PWD. These requirements aim to enhance EEO for PWD in the Federal sector.
The State of PWD Retention in the Federal Sector
With the added focus on the retention of PWD in the Federal Government, it is important to understand the current state of PWD retention and to identify ways to improve retention. However, the EEOC could only find limited research that examined the retention of PWD in the Federal Government. For example, one study used Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) data to account for disability status while measuring the relationship between turnover intentions and five inclusive organizational practices. The practices evaluated were fairness, openness to diversity, cooperativeness, supportiveness, and employee empowerment. The results suggested that only fairness mitigated the negative relationship between disability and turnover intentions.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has also evaluated retention rates of PWD. Using 2011-2017 data, the GAO data showed that the retention rates of PWD and persons without disabilities (PWOD) were similar two years after hiring. After five years, the difference between PWD and PWOD retention was only a difference of 0.6 percentage points. Still, the GAO continued to find the low retention rate of PWD problematic.
Lastly, in a recent report, The EEO Status of Workers with Disabilities in the Federal Sector, the EEOC evaluated 5-year trends of separations from Federal employment by disability status (targeted disability, any disability, and no disability). Persons with targeted disabilities (PWTD) had the highest voluntary separation rate, followed by PWD and PWOD. The data used in that report defined voluntary separations as those resulting from resignation, retirement, and death (employee loss of life). In FY 2018, the voluntary separation rates were about 8.8 percent for PWTD, 8.1 percent for PWD, and 6.5 percent for PWOD. In other words, on average, PWD were 27 percent more likely to separate than PWOD, while PWTD were 37 percent more likely to separate than PWOD.
Involuntary separations showed a similar pattern. Involuntary separations include disciplinary removals, terminations due to lack of funds, and resignations and retirements in lieu of disciplinary removal or termination. PWTD were more than twice as likely to involuntarily separate compared to PWOD, while PWD were 53 percent more likely to involuntarily separate compared to PWOD.
How to Improve EEO and Retention for PWD
In the early 2010s, the GAO published research on ways to increase the participation of PWD in the Federal workforce. They used focus group data. In two separate reports, the GAO identified eight practices that could be beneficial in increasing the participation of PWD:
1. Top leadership commitment.
2. Accountability, including goals to help guide and sustain efforts.
3. Regular surveying of the workforce on disability issues.
4. Better coordination within and across agencies.
5. Training for staff at all levels to disseminate leading practices throughout the agency.
6. Career development opportunities inclusive of PWD.
7. A flexible work environment.
8. Centralized funding at the agency level for reasonable accommodations.
Furthermore, researchers at Cornell University evaluated Federal agency practices to determine how they affected employment outcomes of PWD. Out of the nine practices and policies studied, the researchers identified three effective practices:
• Sufficient staffing and budget for the EEO programs.
• Trend analysis, such as by race, gender, role, or compensation.
• Direct supervision of the EEO director by the agency head.
Based on the research summarized above, additional research on the retention of PWD in the Federal sector is needed. In this report, the EEOC aims to identify the specific practices out of all practices on the MD-715 Essential Elements Self-Assessment Checklist (Part G) that are most associated with retention of Federal persons with disabilities. Federal agencies struggling with PWD retention should prioritize implementing the potentially promising practices found in this report.
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