EEOC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING ON OCTOBER 25

Emergency Preparedness and People with Disabilities: Is the Workplace Ready?

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will hold its next open meeting on Tuesday, October 25, from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon (Eastern Time), at agency headquarters, 1801 L Street, N.W., to build awareness of issues that employers of people with disabilities should consider when preparing for emergencies.

At the meeting – during National Disability Employment Awareness Month – experts will discuss the history of preparedness efforts, best preparedness practices and planning tips, and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  Invited participants include representatives from the Departments of Homeland Security and Labor, the National Taskforce on Fire/Life Safety, the Society of Human Resource Management, EAD and Associates, LLC, and the American Association of People with Disabilities.

EEOC has previously issued a fact sheet addressing emergency preparedness issues entitled Obtaining and Using Employee Medical Information as Part of Emergency Evacuation Procedures, available on the agency's web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/evacuation.html.

In addition to enforcing Title I of the ADA, which prohibits employment discrimination against people with disabilities in the private sector and state and local governments, and the Rehabilitation Act's prohibitions against disability discrimination in the federal government, the EEOC enforces several other laws prohibiting discrimination in the workplace based on race, sex, color, national origin, religion, retaliation, and age.  Further information about the EEOC is available on the agency's web site at www.eeoc.gov.

NOTE TO NEWS MEDIA:  Members of the press and public are requested to arrive before 9:30 a.m. to allow sufficient time to complete entry procedures prior to the meeting.  Please note that photo identification is required for entry. Any matters not discussed or concluded may be carried over to a later meeting. The Commission agenda is subject to revision.  You may call (202) 663-7100 (voice) or (202) 663-4074 (TTY) on the day of the meeting to confirm the schedule.