Maryland county considers changing its laws to give preference to disabled workers

From The Washington Examiner:

Montgomery County is considering changing its laws so that it can give hiring preferences to people with disabilities over similarly skilled people who aren't disabled.

County law requires that hiring and promotion decisions for most employees, excluding managers and contract workers, be based on "merit and fitness," but the County Council's Management and Fiscal Policy Committee will look at changing its law to increase the number of disabled county employees.

"I absolutely think it's the right thing to do," said committee Chairwoman Duchy Trachtenberg, D-at large, citing the difficulty the county's unemployed have finding jobs.

About 10 percent of county residents identify themselves as disabled, and only 54 percent of them are employed, according to a 2006 survey.

One option the county is considering would be to give managers the ability to bypass the typical hiring process to hire a qualified disabled candidate for a county job. Another option would give preference to a disabled candidate over a non-disabled candidate with the same qualifications during the typically competitive hiring process.

The committee also is considering approving both options.

Allowing managers to bypass the normal hiring process would mean a change to the county charter, which voters would have to approve in the 2010 election. The county considered a similar proposal in 1994 but dropped the idea after the county attorney said it would require an amendment to the county's charter, according to a county report.

The second option could be accomplished by changing county law, which only requires the approval of the County Council.

Betsy Luecking, a county disability policy specialist, said the disabled community is split over proposals to give them advantages in the hiring process.

"I would think most people would prefer to think that they were hired because they were the most qualified person," Luecking said.

She said there are other ways, which the county is pursuing, to increase the number of disabled employees. They include increasing internship opportunities for the disabled and showing managers that it doesn't require much extra effort to employ a disabled person.

A county report said that the average extra cost of employing a disabled worker is less than $500.

"It is not that hard to make a reasonable accommodation," Luecking said.