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Welcome to Working Together e-News!
Welcome to the first issue of the Working Together business network e-newsletter, a quarterly update about integrating people with disabilities into your workforce.
We bring you this new resource based on results of the Working Together Member Survey - more than 60 percent of responses indicate that a periodic newsletter is the preferred way to keep informedabout hiring and retaining workers with disabilities.
Each issue will highlight news and events and provide practical solutions to your questions. Count this e-newsletter as a way to stay connected with other employers and as a tool you can use to include people with disabilities in yourbusiness or organization.
It is not too late to take the Working Together Member Survey.
Go here to take the survey and share your ideas.
Interested in sponsoring one of our newsletters? Its a great way to reach a fantastic audience. Go here to find out more.
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About Working Together
We are a group of Maine businesses and organizations helping Maine employers capitalize on an untapped source of employees: individuals with disabilities. Our message is simple: Employing people with disabilities makes good business sense. Visit our website,
www.ExpandingMainesWorkforce.com,
to learn more about the benefits of diversifying your workforce to include individuals with disabilities and
join us as a business partner.
Program Preview: Working Together Second Annual Symposium
Are you an employer interested in expanding your workforce through diversity? Do you need ideas, resources, and contacts to get started?
Join fellow employers on October 30, 2008, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Freeport for the Working Together Second Annual Symposium on employing individuals with disabilities.
The program will kick off with an address from Katherine McCary, a senior executive at SunTrust Bank and national leader in the movement to bring people with disabilities into the workforce. Katherine will talk about why employing people with disabilities makes good business sense, and how SunTrust Bank has benefited from its diverse workforce.
(Read more about Katherine below.)
Then, participants will attend one of three dynamic break-out sessions. Each session will feature a panel of topic experts, as well as employers and employees who will share first-hand experiences and take-away suggestions for best practices.
Panel descriptions:
- Reaching Your Consumers: How To Market Your Employment of People With Disabilities
Hear experts in the field, including keynote speaker, Katherine McCary, reveal marketing strategies and tactics to convert your diverse workplace practices into increased sales.
Panelists: Keynote speaker Katherine McCary, Sun Trust Bank; Merritt Carey, Working Together; Alyson Genoveses, Community Relations Director, Comcast.
- Employing Returning Veterans: Wounds We Can See, Wounds We Can't See
Veterans leave the military with a wealth of work-ready skills and intangibles. Yet, unemployment among veterans is approximately three times higher than among the rest of the U.S. population. During this panel discussion, find out how you can access this vast talent pool through federal, state, and private programs. Whether you think recruiting vets is a constructive way to express your patriotism or simply good for business, this session is designed to help you infuse your workforce with highly adaptable, motivated, and loyal employees.
Panelists: Major General John Libby of the Maine National Guard; Glenn Selwood from Maine Community Counseling; an employer employing returning veterans; and an employed veteran.
- The Aging Workforce and Employees with Disabilities
Maine has the oldest population in U.S. - a serious issue for Maine employers. In this highly relevant session, learn how to keep the talent and knowledge of your aging employees working for you and attract older workers.
Panelists: Susan Faloon, Public Relations Director, Bangor Hydro; an employee from Bangor Hydro; Phyllis Cohn, Communications Director, Maine Chapter of the AARP; Bruce Vermeulen, Vice President for Development, Training & Development Corporation.
Following the break-out sessions, Governor Baldacci (invited) will host an awards ceremony honoring Maine businesses and organizations that have successfully integrated people with disabilities into their workforces. (Nominate your company for an award - see details below).
We will conclude with a networking lunch when participants will have the opportunity to exchange ideas and meet with speakers and provider agencies.
The symposium is scheduled from 7:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Registration is $25 per person, including lunch. Go here to register.
Would you like to sign on as a sponsor for the symposium? Go here to find out how, or email Merritt Carey, Business Partner Liaison, at merritt@expandingmainesworkforce.com.
Image by Susan Gatti Photography
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About Our Keynote Speaker: Katherine McCary
A nationally recognized speaker, Katherine runs a program to increase the employment of people with disabilities and increase awareness of related marketing opportunities at SunTrust Bank. In her 18 years with SunTrust, her efforts have brought national recognition, including the SHRM HR Magazine 2000 Innovative Practice Award, the 2002 US Business Leadership Network (USBLN®) Exceptional Leadership Award, and the US Department of Labor Secretary Elaine Chao's 2004 New Freedom Initiative Award. Katherine represents SunTrust in the Business Leadership Network organization and serves as the President of the US Business Leadership Network, a national organization representing 5,000 businesses that educates employers on the business imperative of disability.
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Call for Nominations
Does your company stand out for its commitment to employing people with disabilities? Nominate your own (or another) business or organization for one of our annual awards and be recognized at the Working Together Second Annual Symposium awards ceremony hosted by Governor Baldacci (invited).
Go here to find out about the awards and submit a nomination.
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Reduce Your Risk, Diversify Your Workforce
Best Practices from Attorney Merritt Carey, Working Together Business Partner Liaison
When I talk to Maine businessowners, I always like to point out one of the less obvious benefits of a diverse workforce: the reduction of exposure to legal risk.
While the prospect of a law suit is inherent to running a business, diversifying your workforce, along with progressive workplace policies, is your best defense should you ever face a Maine Human Rights Complaint.
Consider the following: You have just received a complaint for discrimination based on gender. Which company would you rather be? Company A, with a homogenous workforce comprised almost entirely of white males under age 40? Or, Company B, with a diverse pool of employees that includes people with disabilities, older workers, women, and people of color?
I can tell you with certainty that as an employment attorney, I would rather be defending Company B. It is much harder for an employee to make a showing of discrimination when an employer clearly works hard to ensure diversity and equality in the workplace.
Of course, the benefits of employee diversity go well beyond managing risk - increased creativity, ingenuity, and employee satisfaction are just a few of the non-legal reasons why companies that take care to have a diverse workforce are often more successful than their non-diverse counterparts. This is especially true in our global economy where the need to understand multiple perspectives (cultural and otherwise) is imperative.
See you at our symposium in October when I will be speaking about the marketing value of employing individuals with disabilities.
Merritt Carey, Esq., Business Partner Liaison
merritt@expandingmainesworkforce.com
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On June 25 the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3195, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, a law proposed to make it easier to hire and accommodate employees with disabilities by clarifying some elements of the current Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
According to a June 18, 2008, National Public Radio (NPR) story, "Business advocates say employers want to hire qualified workers with disabilities. And businesses benefit when the law is clearly defined."
Building on a similar bill that had support from more than half of the House of Representatives in 2007, this year's measure was crafted by members of the business community and advocates for people with disabilities.
The House-passed legislation would:
- overturn recent Supreme Court decisions that have reduced the protections for people with disabilities under the ADA, restoring original Congressional intent;
- clarify that the ADA is intended to provide broad coverage to protect anyone who faces discrimination on the basis of disability;
- clarify the definition of disability, including what it means to be "substantially limited in a major life activity;"
- prohibit the consideration of mitigating measures such as medication, prosthetics, and assistive technology, in determining whether an individual has a disability;
- provide coverage to people who experience discrimination based on a perception of impairment, regardless of whether the individual experiences disability.
The House bill passed by a 402-17 vote. The Senate will now consider its version of the bill, S. 1881, later this year. With such a strong House vote and the support of a seemingly broad coalition of civil rights groups, disability advocates, and employer trade organizations, it seems likely that the Senate will pass its version later this summer.
For more information, visit the House Education and Labor Committee website at http://edlabor.house.gov/issues/adaaa.shtml or you can track the Senate bill's progress here (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110-1881).
To read NPR's coverage go to http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91625706.
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October 15 is Disability Mentoring Day
Disability Mentoring Day promotes career development for students and job-seekers with disabilities through job shadowing and hands-on career exploration. On October 15, 2008, participants will visit job sites for informational sessions with mentors to learn about the skills needed to succeed in that particular career.
Employers, this is an opportunity to demonstrate positive community leadership and to access new or emerging talent - potential recruits for internships and permanent positions.
To become a host job site or mentor, contact your regional coordinator, listed below:
Statewide Coordinator:
Debbie Bechard, dbechard@jmg.org, 620-7180, ext 212
Regional Coordinators:
Aroostook & Washington Counties:
Kent D. De Merchant, Kent.D.DeMerchant@maine.gov, 1-800-697-2877
Penobscot, Piscataquis, & Hancock Counties:
Joyce Santerre, Joyce.Santerre@maine.gov, 1-800-777-8173
Androscoggin, Franklin, Somerset, Oxford, & Kennebec Counties:
Marc D. Rodriguez, Marc.D.Rodrigue@maine.gov, 1-800-794-1110
York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox, & Waldo Counties:
Abbie Miller, Abbie.Miller@maine.gov, 1-877-594-5627, ext 413
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