Montgomery Council Approves Establishment Of Hiring Priority for People With Disabilities

Bill for Hiring ‘Preference’ to be Drafted; Creation of Special Hiring Authority Referred to Charter Review Commission

ROCKVILLE, Md., November 24, 2009—The Montgomery County Council today unanimously approved moving forward to establish a “hiring preference” that would permit a job candidate with a disability to receive a hiring preference for a vacant County merit system position if the candidate is among the highest rated candidates in a normal competitive process. The Council’s action was based on a review of the County government’s hiring of persons with disabilities by the Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO).

The Council decided to refer to the Charter Review Commission the question of whether to amend the County Charter to allow the Council to create a special “hiring authority” to recruit and hire persons with disabilities into County government merit positions outside of the merit system. The Council asked that the Charter Review Commission to report back to the Council on the proposal by July 1.

“The combined unemployment and under-employment rate for people with disabilities is 70 percent or more,” said Council President Phil Andrews, who requested the report be compiled by the Office of Legislative Oversight. “That is a staggering waste of talent. With today’s landmark action, the Council has unanimously indicated its commitment to substantially expanding employment opportunities in County government for people with disabilities.”

A bill requiring a new County personnel regulation establishing a hiring preference for certain individuals with a disability will be drafted and is scheduled to be introduced before the Council on Dec. 1.

OLO’s report “Hiring Persons with Disabilities: A Review of County Government Practices” was released in 2008. On Nov. 23, the Council’s Management and Fiscal Policy (MFP) Committee recommended the actions taken by the Council today.

“The United States has been making considerable progress in improving the hiring of persons with disabilities over the past 20 years,” said Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg, who chairs the MFP Committee. “Now, Montgomery County is stepping up to implement some of the most progressive policies in the nation, allowing us to improve the quality of our work staff with highly qualified persons of any ability status.”

If a special authority is established (which would require voter approval of a Charter amendment), it likely would resemble a model used by the federal government known as “Schedule A.” Under that federal hiring program, federal agencies are allowed to directly hire qualified people with specific types of disabilities into vacant positions while bypassing many components of the federal government’s competitive hiring process. In the federal government, a hiring manager may hire a Schedule A applicant without advertising the job. A job applicant can apply for a position directly to the agency rather than through the federal USA Jobs program.

Because a special hiring authority and a hiring preference would be complementary and not duplicative, the MFP Committee suggested the Council pursue both.

Contact: Neil H. Greenberger 240-777-7939 / Jean Arthur 240-777-7934 / Delphine Harriston 240-777-7931