In 2022, a San Francisco physician went to prison for coaching federal employees to file claims of fake emotional disabilities with the Department of Labor. The physician admitted to stealing government records to contact and coach his patients. The number of federal employees coached was not reported.
Also, in 2022, a government contractor fraudulently obtained federal contracts set aside for disabled applicants. The Department of Justice ordered the contractor, Trimark, to repay nearly $50 million.
In September 2023, a New Hampshire man pleaded guilty in federal court to faking his physical disability. Over 20 years, the man claimed more than $660,000 in veteran’s benefits.
In each case, government programs for the disabled were manipulated, sometimes for years, by criminals. If federal investigators could have discovered and corrected the abuses sooner, more disabled workers and their families could have been helped.
Though the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 promised to include the disabled in society, this has not been realized. According to the Labor Department, the unemployment rate for the disabled is 6.5 percent compared to 3.7 percent for all workers. Federal bureaucrats must implement better management of programs and personnel so that disabled workers can succeed in the workplace.
As a U.S. senator, Joe Biden voted to enact the ADA. He is the first president to have done so. He has seen the law’s positive effect on Americans.
Biden should also understand the importance of equipping federal bureaucrats so they are up to the task of professionally managing disabled workers. The federal management style has historically been paternalistic toward disabled workers.
Systemic paternalism has caused and continues to cause hostility and resentment in workplaces.
The Federal Aviation Administration, part of the Transportation Department, recently announced that it is actively seeking people with “severe intellectual” disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental conditions to fulfill a diversity and inclusion initiative. Better communication from the FAA is needed to explain the initiative to the public.
If the FAA’s management lacks the skills to manage these psychologically disabled individuals, it would represent a setback to employment for workers with these types of disabilities. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg seems energetic and able to make this initiative a success.
The federal government works to be a model employer for all people. While it seldom succeeds, it works to help other employers recognize the challenges and opportunities of a skilled and diverse workforce.
In the case of the San Francisco physician who coached federal workers on emotional disabilities, it might have been the case that his patients thought they might be seen as a danger in their workplace. They used fear of mental illness to take taxpayer-paid vacations. This is shameful. It is the function of U.S. prisons to rehabilitate these types, if possible.
When President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA into law, he said: “Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down.” It was a historic moment.
President Biden can do more to help disabled workers. As the 34th anniversary of the ADA approaches, the Biden presidency should make historic employment gains for disabled workers. He should continue to bring down the shameful wall of systemic paternalism holding back so many ambitious and talented disabled workers.
We have laws to protect workers with disabilities. We have organizations working to reduce the stigma of disability in the workplace. America is working to meet its promises to disabled workers.
