| January 29, 2021 ODEP 20th Anniversary The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2021. Jennifer Sheehy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy, posted a blog on "ODEP at 20: Driving Change and Creating Opportunity." The blog discusses ODEP's origin and the importance of evidence-based data supporting its work to promote disability employment. "Data allow us to measure progress made and opportunity to come, and in the case of disability employment, they help drive change toward a more inclusive workforce — the crux of our mission at ODEP since day one," said Sheehy. "From evidence-based data to policy to employment supports, we have been driving change and creating opportunity for 20 years." Zero Project Awards The Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT) and the State Exchange on Employment & Disability (SEED) received the 2021 Zero Project Award in the Employment category's Innovative Policies. This international award is given to organizations for their pioneering practices and policies that support the rights and lives of persons with disabilities. PEAT was honored for its role in fostering collaborations that make emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, extended reality and autonomous vehicles, accessible to people with disabilities. SEED was recognized for promoting state and local policies and practices through cooperative relationships with legislative and administrative bodies, leading to increased employment opportunities for people with disabilities. MyJAN The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) launched the MyJAN portal on its website. The MyJAN tool allows website users to save and organize resources in one location, including accommodation solutions by disability, information by topic area, JAN newsletter articles and more. Users can create a free MyJAN account and add links to JAN web pages, file them by category, include notes about the resources, and set the list and grid view order. Resources can be added, organized and deleted at any time. In addition, the site displays recommended and newly released JAN resources in a "Recommended Resources" tab in the portal. JAN eNews The Job Accommodation Network published its quarterly eNews. The newsletter features articles on accommodations for difficulties with assisting others on the telephone due to stress, anxiety and interpersonal communications; sharps disposal in the workplace; workplace flexibility and requesting medical information and more. eRecruiting Screening Systems The Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion and the Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology released the "Checklist for Employers: Facilitating the Hiring of People with Disabilities Through the Use of eRecruiting Screening Systems, Including AI." eRecruiting systems, including artificial intelligence, are becoming more commonly used to screen candidates, streamline the application process, provide training, disseminate information to employees and increase productivity in the workplace. This publication highlights questions and issues that business leaders, human resources personnel, equal employment opportunity managers, and procurement officers should consider about contracts with vendors regarding the content of eRecruiting screening tools. Small Business at Work The Campaign for Disability Employment posted a guest blog from the Northeast ADA Center on "Small Business at Work – for Disability Inclusion." The blog highlights an online resource to help small businesses recruit, hire and retain people with disabilities. Developed with research conducted by the Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability at Cornell University, the "Small Business at Work" tool provides advice on disability employment best practices and how the Americans with Disabilities Act pertains to small businesses. SEED Microsite The State Exchange on Employment & Disability (SEED) revealed its new microsite as part of the Office of Disability Employment Policy's website redesign, offering a better user experience and an array of new resources from the SEED initiative. The microsite includes tools and information to assist state and local policymakers to adopt inclusive policies and best practices that increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The site also features an overview of the types of policy assistance SEED provides and state outreach examples, as well as articles, blogs, podcasts and webinars from SEED's intermediary partners. | 
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