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SUBJ/ Department of the Navy 2024 National Disability Employment Awareness 
Month//

RMKS/1.  During National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), we 
celebrate the value and talent that workers with disabilities add to 
America's workplaces and economy.  NDEAM takes place annually each October, 
but its purpose is to affirm an employer's commitment to ensuring Individuals 
with Disabilities
(IWD) have access to rewarding employment every day.  This year's NDEAM theme 
is "Access to Good Jobs for All."  Good jobs change lives, and all workers, 
including workers with disabilities, deserve the opportunity to prepare for, 
obtain, and succeed in meaningful employment.

2.  As part of the Department of the Navy's (DON) commitment to being a model 
employer of IWD and increasing access to good jobs, the DON issued a 
memorandum in March 2024 titled, "Utilization of Schedule A(u) Hiring 
Authority for Individuals with Disabilities."
This memorandum mandates the DON to include the Schedule A(u) hiring avenue 
on all merit promotion job opportunity announcements open to candidates 
outside of the Department of Defense.  Schedule A(u) is an excepted service 
hiring authority created to provide employment pathways specifically for 
people with disabilities, allowing qualified IWD to be considered for 
employment and thus providing a larger applicant pool.

3.  The DON has made significant strides in increasing access to employment 
for IWD, which is reflected in our civilian demographic data.  More than 14 
percent of the DON's workforce are IWD, demonstrating that hard-working 
candidates with disabilities can be assets to our team and viable sources to 
fill our ranks, especially in critical occupations.  This surpasses the 12 
percent goal set by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for federal 
agencies, and I am proud of the DON for its achievements and commitment to 
excellence and progress.

4.  I call upon our leaders and hiring managers at all levels to consider 
this untapped asset when filling DON vacancies.  Qualified candidates with 
disabilities can be gained using recruitment sources such as the USAJOBS 
Agency Talent Portal and the Workforce Recruitment Program.  Contact your 
servicing Human Resources advisors and Equal Employment Opportunity offices 
to learn more about Schedule A(u), or you may visit the Naval Civilian 
Careers website at Naval Civilian Careers (navy.mil).  For more information 
on NDEAM, please visit the Department of Labor website at: National 
Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) | U.S. Department of Labor 
(dol.gov).

5.  Released by the Honorable Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the Navy.//

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