By Tamar Asedo Sherman
One of the benefits of having a disability is that you get a hiring preference by federal, state, and local governments. All federal agencies are required by law to identify qualified candidates with disabilities to meet workforce diversity goals. Here’s your chance to get a good paying job with health and retirement benefits, but you must be proactive. The jobs are out there, but they’re not going to come looking for you. You’ve got to make yourself known by networking with local agencies, contacting resources listed on the Internet, and aggressively seeking out all available governmental employment opportunities.
Federal employers are authorized to hire people with severe physical, cognitive, or psychiatric disabilities under special “appointing authorities.” These authorities offer a unique opportunity for people with disabilities to demonstrate their potential to perform the essential duties of a position with or without reasonable accommodation. Some states and local municipalities have special provisions for hiring people with disabilities, too. Check with your own county, town or village to see what programs they might have to offer you.
Federal agencies hire people with severe physical disabilities under what they call “Schedule A” appointments. To be considered, you must be certified by a counselor from a state vocational rehabilitation agency or the Department of Veterans Affair’s Vocational Rehabilitation Office that you are likely to succeed in the job. After completing two years of satisfactory service under the Schedule A appointment, you may qualify for conversion to competitive service.
Schedule B is for hiring people who have recovered from mental illness. It permits appointments of people who have been hospitalized or treated as an outpatient and have had a significant period of substantially disrupted employment because of a psychiatric disability.
A state vocational rehabilitation counselor or a Department of Veterans Affairs counseling psychologist (or psychiatrist) must certify that you are capable of functioning in the position and that any residual disability is not job related. Employment under Schedule B may not exceed two years after each significant episode of mental illness.
Veterans with a disability rating of 30% or more can be given a noncompetitive temporary appointment of more than 60 days and up to one year or a term appointment of more than one year but less than four. Anyone hired under this provision could be converted to permanent employment at any time.
To find a job with the Federal government, visit www.usajobs.opm.gov or call 912-
757-3000, 912-744-2299 (TDD) or any of 17 Office of Personnel Management Service Centers located throughout the country (local numbers listed in the blue pages). Some states, such as New York, have their own programs to hire people with disabilities. Under New York State Civil Service Law, up to 1,200 noncompetitive positions can be filled by qualified people with disabilities under Section 55b. An additional 300 positions can be filled by qualified wartime veterans with disabilities under Section 55c. You don’t have to take a written test or oral examination to be considered for an appointment, but a medical evaluation may be required. You must still meet the educational and/or experience qualifications for the position.
To qualify for either section, you must complete a special application form and submit a résumé and a medical statement signed by your physician stating the nature of your disability and the extent of your functional limitations. (New York members can call or write the NYS Department of Civil Service, Workers with Disabilities Program, Albany, NY 12239, call 877-324-8695 or visit www.cs.state.ny.us. Outside of New York,
you can call or visit your state’s civil service department or personnel office for more information.)
If you think you might be interested in a civil service position, you might want to start the process right away. The qualifying procedure isn’t too bad, but the whole process can be slow. In New York, I was certified Section 55b with a letter from my doctor, but
was advised to take a competitive exam anyway. It then took six months for the list of people with top scorers to be released and a few months more before a position became available. By then I had decided to return to school to pursue a different career.
Applying for a civil service job is not a good route if you’re looking for a job right away, but if you’re looking down the road, applying for certification is a good idea. You never know what jobs might open up for which you are qualified.
Tamar Asedo Sherman works as an employment specialist at UCP-Suffolk in Hauppauge, NY. She can be reached at action@unitedspinal.org
