Achieving Equal Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities Through Legislation: Guidelines

[From Preface] For a long time it was assumed that unemployment and underemployment of people with disabilities was closely interrelated to, unavoidable consequence of, the physical and mental impairments of the persons concerned. It is now recognised that many of the disadvantages they face and the fact that they are often excluded are not due to individual impairments, but rather a result of the reaction of society to that impairment. Laws and policies are part of this reaction. These guidelines reflect the reappraisal of disability as a human rights issue. Intended for policy-makers and drafters of legislation, they have been developed with a view to assisting in improving the effectiveness of national laws concerning training and employment of disabled persons, as part of an ILO Project “The Employment of People with Disabilities: the Impact of Legislation”. Funded by the Government of Ireland, this project aims to enhance the capacity of governments of selected countries to implement effective legislation on the employment of people with disabilities – either in the form of new laws, or revisions to existing laws, or through the development of regulations or policies to implement laws. In addition to compiling information on laws and their effectiveness, the project provides technical assistance to selected national governments in implementing necessary improvements in their laws. These drafting guidelines are intended as a tool to support this technical advisory role and will be available to all participating countries