The Postal Service will observe National Disability Employment Awareness Month in October.
This year’s theme, “Advancing Access and Equity,” refers to an important milestone in disability rights: the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
The landmark law ensured civil rights protections and reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities in any federally funded activity or program.
“Approximately 38,000 USPS employees identify as having a disability. Management leverages those employees’ skills and unique perspectives to strengthen services provided to the American public,” said Thomas Blum, the Postal Service’s labor relations vice president.
“USPS values the significance of their contribution to the organization’s overall success,” he said.
The Postal Service is encouraging all employees with a disability to self-identify, or to update a disability already on file, by completing PS Form 2489, Self-Identification of a Physical or Mental Disability.
The data gleaned from the form, which is kept confidential, supports the development of initiatives to improve the recruitment, hiring, advancement and retention of individuals with disabilities.
PS Form 2489 is not a request for reasonable accommodation.
The website of the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy has more information about the 2023 campaign, including ways employers can promote disability inclusion efforts year-round.
The Postal Service’s National Disability Program Blue page also offers materials to help employees and managers better understand disability employment matters, including information about the October observance, the Rehabilitation Act and disability employment policy.