Individuals with disabilities face numerous challenges in the workplace and a growing threat from recent federal policy changes that affect their employment, education and support systems – but New York state can mitigate these harms. 

That was the message that Wendy Strobel Gower, executive director of the Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability at the ILR School, relayed in her testimony at the joint public hearing held by the New York Senate Standing Committee on Disabilities and the Senate Standing Committee on Labor on May 6 in Albany.

The hearing aimed to examine barriers to employment for individuals with disabilities in New York and assess the effectiveness of existing state policies in promoting equitable employment opportunities.

“This was an amazing opportunity to showcase YTI and the research that we do in a way that will improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities in New York state,” Gower said. “It was extremely productive, and we’ve already scheduled a follow-up meeting with Senator Jessica Ramos. We are eager to continue these discussions with the members of the Labor and Disability Committee and to continue our work with the Office of the Chief Disability Officer to provide our expertise and inform state legislature and policy.”

In her testimony, Strobel Gower said establishing the state’s Office of the Chief Disability Officer in 2022 successfully created a formal structure to coordinate across systems and better connect job seekers with disabilities to employers.

However, she said, federal policy changes are “placing strain on disability employment, education and support systems.” She pointed out that legal challenges to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and efforts to dismantle key functions of the U.S. Department of Education threaten access to education and employment protections. 

“Without strong federal enforcement, New Yorkers with disabilities are at greater risk of exclusion,” she said. “The state should explore opportunities to strengthen civil rights protections at the state level to prevent a return to institutionalization, greater unemployment and segregation.”

Federal actions have also disrupted business-led disability inclusion efforts, Strobel Gower said. 

“For years, we have worked with employers to promote disability as a core component of diversity and inclusion,” Strobel Gower said. “Recent efforts to broadly eliminate DEI and affirmative action initiatives have unintentionally reversed progress on disability hiring and retention. These shifts are already affecting employer behavior.”

According to Strobel Gower, other concerns include the need to prevent the expansion of segregated, subminimum-wage employment, as well as potential reductions to Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services.

“New York has powerful levers to … strengthen economic security for people with disabilities and protect civil rights,” Strobel Gower concluded. “By building on existing initiatives and continuing strong cross-agency leadership, the state is positioned to become a national model.”

Julie Greco is the director of communications for the ILR School.