US Labor Departments Office of Disability Employment Policy and Partnership for Public Service join forces to increase federal hiring of people with disabilities

WASHINGTON — Kathleen Martinez, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, andMax Stier, president and chief executive officer of the Partnership for Public Service, today signed an alliance agreement to advance President Obama's executive order to increase federal hiring of people with disabilities.

By offering federal agencies and related employer/employee organizations technical assistance and research-based model programs, ODEP and the PPS jointly will promote effective disability employment strategies, policies and practices government-wide.

"By working together, ODEP and the PPS will be able to identify what federal agencies need to fulfill the requirements of the executive order, as well as offer valuable support and resources toward accomplishing those goals," said Martinez.

The Partnership for Public Service is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to revitalize the federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve and to transform the way government works.

ODEP's mission is to provide national leadership by developing and influencing disability employment-related policies and practices affecting an increase in the employment of people with disabilities. In addition to the Partnership for Public Service, the agency has alliances with several organizations — the Society of Human Resource Management, the U.S. Business Leadership Network and the National Association of Governors' Committees on People with Disabilities — aimed at enhancing the employment of people with disabilities in the private sector.