Tool 8 - Federal Contractors: Encouraging Employees to Self-Identify as a Person with a Disability
Tips for Leadership
- This message only applies to employers who are federal contractors or sub-contractors. Section 503 rule changes require employers to make progress toward having an applicant pool and workforce with at least 7% of people with disabilities.
- The purpose of this message is to activate managers and supervisors to play a role in ensuring that applicants and employees with disabilities respond to data collection efforts required by Section 503. However, most employers use this data not just for reporting purposes, but also for internal assessments of their disability inclusiveness efforts.
- This message also emphasizes for managers the importance of the confidentiality of this data.
- Here is more information about the invitation to voluntary self-identify.
Topic 8. Messages
Supporting Self-Identification
Collecting data is part of (COMPANY NAME)'s effort to track the success of our disability inclusiveness goals. This is also part of our reporting responsibilities to the federal government. Our managers and supervisors play a key role in this data collection.
We collect data about both applicants and current employees. All job applicants are invited to voluntarily self-identify as a person with a disability during our hiring process. Also, all current employees are invited to self-identify about once every three years. Managers and supervisors should never collect or view the self-identification forms of individual employees. Rather, you will refer applicants and employees to the (LINK OR LOCATION TO BE USED BY APPLICANTS/EMPLOYEES TO RESPOND TO THE FORM).
As a manager, remind applicants and employees to respond to this invitation to self-identify—to stand up and be counted. When doing this, also remind applicants and employees that this personal disclosure data is confidential and that individual data will never be available to managers or supervisors or to anyone else making decisions such as hiring, performance, promotion, or termination. To find (COMPANY NAME)'s form for voluntary self-identification as a person with a disability, go to (YOUR COMPANY'S LINK TO INFORMATION AND FORMS ABOUT INVITATION TO VOLUNTARILY SELF-IDENTIFY AS A PERSON WITH A DISABILITY.)
Want to learn more?
If you want to learn more about this topic, contact the Northeast ADA Center.