The House of Delegates has already taken significant steps to improve employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
HB 1848 was approved by the House of Delegates and now moves to the Senate for consideration. The bill, patroned by Delegate Sickles, extends state protections against employment discrimination to individuals with disabilities. In 2020, the legislature passed sweeping protections against discrimination for many classifications, but neglected to include people with disabilities. HB 1848 corrects that oversight.
Delegate Guzman’s HB 2140 establishes an alternate application process in state employment for people with disabilities and creates a program to hire and train such employees. The bill was approved by a subcommittee of General Laws and will go before the full committee, probably Tuesday afternoon at 1:00. Because the bill was approved unanimously by the subcommittee, and because the Administration supports it, we do not expect the full committee to hear additional debate.
The disAbility Law Center of Virginia’s mission is to advance independence, choice and self-determination; protect legal, human and civil rights; and eliminate abuse, neglect and discrimination of people with disabilities through zealous and uncompromising legal advocacy and representation.
We are available to educate policy makers about the potential impact of legislative proposals. Please let us know of any legislative proposals or budget issues that you think we should be following. Contact us at info@dlcv.org or by calling 1-800-552-3962 or 804-225-2042.