President Biden’s Investing in America agenda provides new opportunities to expand access to good jobs in key industries for people with disabilities. Good jobs are jobs at safe workplaces that pay family-sustaining wages and offer strong civil rights protections. Unprecedented federal investments in infrastructure, manufacturing, and clean energy are creating opportunities for greater inclusion of disabled people in critical industries.

This event will feature a panel of policymakers discussing the impact of the Investing in America agenda and the opportunities it generates for disabled workers. Participants will also hear best practices to help employers hire and retain people with disabilities in good jobs.

At this event, you will learn about how:

• DOL’s Good Jobs Initiative works to enhance talent development for high-quality jobs in high-growth industries by partnering with the departments of Transportation, Commerce, Energy, and Interior, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency and the General Services Administration, to support the use of federal investment in employment for people with disabilities.
• DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) Mega Construction Project Program fosters equal opportunity in the construction trades workforce of federal contractors and subcontractors on large federal construction projects.
• The Commerce, Energy, and Transportation departments have designed programs funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act to ensure that all workers have opportunities to work on federally funded projects.
• DOL’s resource “Helping Workers with Disabilities Get Ahead Through Good Jobs: A Toolkit of Practical Strategies” provides policies, practices, and real-life examples to help employers hire and retain people with disabilities in good jobs.American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Live CART captioning will be provided.

MEETING SPEAKERS:

Taryn Mackenzie Williams, Assistant Secretary of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy U.S. Department of Labor

Emlyn Bottomley, Policy Analyst, Good Jobs Initiative, U.S. Department of Labor

Anupa I. Geevarghese, Deputy Director, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, U.S. Department of Labor

Maya Goodwin, Workforce Strategy Lead, Office of Energy Jobs, U.S. Department of Energy

Karen R. Owens, Senior Policy Advisor, CHIPs for America, U.S. Department of Commerce

Paige Shevlin, Strategic Advisor for Infrastructure Workforce Development, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation, M.L. (Mike) Efaw, National Legislative Director, Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen