A disabled woman in a wheelchair sitting at a table smiling while talking to coworkers

National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2026: Theme, Facts, and Resources

/in , /by Jackie Dilworth

A disabled woman in a wheelchair sitting at a table smiling while talking to coworkersUpdated October 7, 2026

Every October, National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) recognizes the contributions of workers with disabilities and calls attention to the barriers that still keep too many people out of the workforce.

The 2026 NDEAM theme is “Celebrating Value and Talent.” The U.S. Department of Labor is carrying last year’s theme forward in honor of America’s 250th birthday, highlighting the role people with disabilities have played in shaping workplaces, communities, and the economy.

There’s still a long way to go. In September 2026, only 40.3% of working-age people with disabilities were employed, compared with 75% of people without disabilities. For people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), opportunities for competitive, integrated employment are even more limited.

At The Arc, disability employment is year-round work. We advocate for policies that expand competitive, integrated employment, challenge low expectations and discrimination, and create more opportunities for people with disabilities to build careers and earn fair wages.

NDEAM is a time to recognize the talents and contributions people with disabilities bring to the workforce and address the barriers that keep too many people from having the same opportunities to work and build careers. For employers, that starts with looking at who’s missing from their workforce and why.

What Is National Disability Employment Awareness Month?

National Disability Employment Awareness Month, or NDEAM, is observed every October to raise awareness about disability employment, promote inclusive workplace practices, and expand opportunities for people with disabilities to work and build careers.

The observance began in 1945 as a week recognizing workers with physical disabilities. Congress expanded it to a month in 1988. Today, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy sets the annual theme and provides resources to help employers and communities take part.

What Is the 2026 National Disability Employment Awareness Month Theme?

The 2026 NDEAM theme is “Celebrating Value and Talent.” The U.S. Department of Labor chose to continue the 2025 theme through 2026 as the country marks its 250th birthday.

The theme highlights the role people with disabilities have played throughout American history and the skills, expertise, and perspectives they bring to workplaces today.

Celebrating that value also means making sure people with disabilities have access to jobs, advancement, fair wages, and workplaces where they can succeed.

What Are the Biggest Employment Barriers for People With Disabilities?

People with disabilities continue to face barriers to finding jobs, staying employed, and advancing in their careers. For people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), those barriers can be compounded by limited access to employment supports and too few opportunities for competitive, integrated employment.

Those barriers show up in a striking employment gap. Working-age people without disabilities are nearly twice as likely to be employed as people with disabilities. For people with IDD, the gap can be even greater. In 2024, only 16% of people receiving services from state IDD agencies were working in individual, competitive integrated jobs.

The problem isn’t a lack of talent or desire to work. Employers can underestimate workers with disabilities or make assumptions about what they can do, what support they will need, or how much accommodations will cost.

Common barriers include:

  • Hiring bias and low expectations
  • Inaccessible applications and interviews
  • Inadequate workplace accommodations
  • Transportation and support barriers
  • Limited opportunities for promotion and career growth
  • Concerns about how earnings could affect Medicaid, SSI, or other essential benefits
  • Too few opportunities for competitive, integrated employment

The Arc advocates for competitive, integrated employment, where people with disabilities work alongside people without disabilities, receive comparable wages, and have opportunities to advance in their careers.

What Employment Rights Do People With Disabilities Have?

People with disabilities are protected from employment discrimination under federal law, and qualified applicants and employees may have the right to reasonable accommodations.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employers can’t discriminate based on disability in hiring, pay, promotions, training, job assignments, firing, and other employment practices. Federal employment protections under the ADA generally apply to private employers with 15 or more employees and to state and local government employers. Some state and local laws offer additional protections.

A reasonable accommodation is a change to the hiring process, work environment, or way a job is usually done that gives a qualified person with a disability an equal employment opportunity. Examples could include accessible technology, a modified schedule, changes in how information is communicated, or adjustments to the physical workspace.

Workers also don’t need to use legal language to ask for an accommodation. They can tell an employer they need a change at work because of a disability or medical condition. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says there are no required “magic words” for making a request.

People with disabilities who have questions about workplace accommodations can use the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) for free, confidential guidance.

Why Should Companies Hire People With Disabilities?

Hiring people with disabilities gives companies access to talent that too often gets overlooked. Research has also found a strong relationship between disability inclusion and business performance.

Research from Accenture and Disability:IN found that companies identified as leaders in disability inclusion had 1.6 times more revenue, 2.6 times more net income, and twice the economic profit of other companies participating in the Disability Equality Index. They were also 25% more likely to outperform their industry peers on productivity, measured by revenue per employee.

Employees with disabilities bring skills and expertise across every industry. Disability-inclusive workplaces can also push companies to improve technology, communication, flexibility, and other practices in ways that can benefit the broader workforce.

The Arc knows the value of inclusive employment firsthand. Our employment stories feature people with IDD building careers across industries and employers describing the value they bring to their workplaces.

People with disabilities should be hired for the same reason anyone else is hired: because they have the skills, experience, and potential to contribute.

How Much Do Workplace Accommodations Cost?

Workplace accommodations often cost far less than employers expect. According to the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), 61% of employers who reported accommodation costs said the accommodations they provided cost nothing. For accommodations with a one-time cost, the median expense was $300.

Accommodations can be as simple as changing a work schedule, adjusting how information is communicated, modifying a workplace policy, or providing equipment or technology. What works depends on the employee and the job.

Employers in JAN’s research also reported benefits from accommodations, including retaining valuable employees and improving productivity and morale.

Employers looking for help can use the Job Accommodation Network’s free, confidential resources and consultation services for guidance on accommodations, the ADA, hiring, workplace policies, and specific accommodation situations.

How Can Employers Hire More People With Disabilities?

Employers can hire more people with disabilities by removing barriers from recruiting, applications, interviews, and onboarding and by intentionally reaching job seekers with disabilities.

Start by asking:

  • Are your online applications and career pages accessible?
  • Do job descriptions include requirements that aren’t actually necessary to do the job?
  • Do applicants know they can request an accommodation during the hiring process?
  • Can you offer different interview formats when appropriate?
  • Are recruiters and hiring managers trained to recognize implicit bias about disability and focus on a candidate’s skills and qualifications?
  • Are you recruiting through disability organizations, employment programs, and other networks that can connect you with job seekers with disabilities?

Not sure where to start? The Arc’s Starter Guide to Creating an Inclusive Workplace offers seven steps employers can take to strengthen disability hiring and inclusion.

What Makes a Workplace Disability-Inclusive?

A disability-inclusive workplace builds accessibility, accommodations, flexibility, and trust into everyday workplace practices.

It also needs to be a place where employees feel safe disclosing a disability if they choose to. Accenture research found that 76% of employees with disabilities don’t fully disclose their disabilities at work. Many disabilities aren’t apparent, and employees may worry that disclosure could change how coworkers or managers see them or limit their opportunities to advance. The goal is to create a workplace where people can disclose when they want or need to without worrying that it’ll hurt their career.

Hiring is only the beginning. Employers should also:

  • Make the accommodation process easy to find, confidential, and safe to use.
  • Build accessibility into technology, meetings, communications, and physical spaces.
  • Give managers training on disability inclusion and accommodations.
  • Offer flexibility where the job allows it.
  • Include employees with disabilities in decisions about workplace policies that affect them, without expecting them to educate everyone else.

When accessibility and flexibility are built into the workplace from the start, they can remove barriers before an employee ever has to ask for help and make work better for employees with and without disabilities.

How Can Employers Retain and Advance Employees With Disabilities?

Hiring people with disabilities is only one part of workplace inclusion. Employers also need to make sure employees with disabilities have equitable opportunities to stay, grow, take on new responsibilities, and move into leadership.

Employers can:

  • Make professional development and training accessible.
  • Review promotion and performance processes for barriers or implicit bias.
  • Make sure employees with disabilities are considered for stretch assignments, mentorship, and leadership opportunities.
  • Train managers to have effective conversations about accommodations, performance, and career goals.
  • Track retention and advancement, not just disability hiring.
  • Create ways for employees to raise concerns about accessibility or discrimination without fear of retaliation.
  • Include employees with disabilities in workplace planning and decision-making.

Employees shouldn’t have to choose between getting the support they need and being seen as someone with potential to advance. Employers can help by making accommodations routine, protecting privacy, and ensuring that disability doesn’t become a barrier to career growth.

How Can Employers Celebrate NDEAM in 2026?

Employers can celebrate NDEAM by using October to highlight disability employment, learn from people with disabilities, and share resources that help build more inclusive workplaces.

Ideas include:

Where Can People With Disabilities Find Employment Help?

People with disabilities looking for work or trying to advance in their careers can get help with job searches, employment supports, accommodations, and questions about how working may affect disability benefits.

Depending on where you live and the type of support you need, options may include:

  • State vocational rehabilitation agencies, which can help eligible people with disabilities prepare for, find, keep, or advance in employment.
  • American Job Centers, which provide employment and training services to job seekers, including people with disabilities.
  • Benefits counseling, which can help people receiving disability benefits understand how work and earnings may affect SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, or Medicare.
  • The Job Accommodation Network, which provides free, confidential information about workplace accommodations and employment issues.
  • Chapters of The Arc. Some chapters provide employment programs, job coaching, training, or other employment supports. Find a chapter of The Arc in your community to learn what is available locally.
  • Work and benefits resources, which can help people understand how earnings may interact with disability benefits and programs such as ABLE.

People with disabilities deserve the same opportunities as anyone else to find work, earn fair wages, grow in their careers, and be valued for what they bring to the workplace. NDEAM puts a national spotlight on disability employment each October, but creating those opportunities takes work all year long.

Picture of the U.S. Department of Education building in Washington, DC

Supreme Court Clears Path for Dismantling of Education Department, Putting Students with Disabilities in Harm’s Way

/in /by Jackie Dilworth

In a fast-moving case with massive consequences for education, the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education to continue while a legal challenge plays out. The decision came without a full hearing or written explanation, and it greenlights layoffs of federal employees that could devastate services for students with disabilities.

This ruling doesn’t end the case that’s still making its way through the courts, but it means the damage could happen now, before any final decision is made about the legal issues. Here’s what you need to know.

What is the McMahon v. New York Case About?

This case is about President Trump’s firing of the federal employees who staff the U.S. Department of Education (“ED”), and his March 2025 Executive Order announcing plans to fully dismantle it. The order, called “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities”, directs the Secretary of Education to take all necessary steps to close ED entirely.

ED plays a critical role in protecting and funding education for students with disabilities, including enforcing federal disability rights laws and providing special education funding to states.

What Happened Before the Supreme Court Got Involved?

  • March 2025: More than 1,400 employees (nearly half of ED’s workforce) were fired, that included the removal of essential staff who investigate complaints of discrimination on the basis of disability at the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and staff who provide expert advice about special education law and services at The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS). In addition, the Trump Administration issued the executive order to dismantle the Department of Education this month.
  • May 2025: Groups of states, school districts, and teachers’ unions sued the federal government in two separate cases, saying that the administration doesn’t have the authority to eliminate a department created by Congress The case brought by the states (New York v. McMahon) was combined with the case brought by the school districts and teachers’ unions (Somerville Public Schools v. Trump). Now the combined case going forward is using the name New York v. McMahon.
  • Lower Courts: Both a district court and court of appeals sided against the Trump Administration, ordering the administration to rehire the affected employees while the case played out in the courts. The judges agreed that the administration could not close ED, as only Congress has the power to create or close federal agencies.
  • Appeal to the Supreme Court: The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to pause those orders so layoffs could go forward while the case was ongoing.

What Did the Supreme Court Decide?

The Supreme Court allowed the Trump Administration to continue to fire essential federal employees at ED even though the courts have not yet ruled in New York v. McMahon. Because this was an emergency (or “shadow”) docket decision, there was no public hearing and no opinion explaining the reasoning.

Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson, dissented:

“When the Executive publicly announces its intent to break the law, and then executes on that promise, it is the Judiciary’s duty to check that lawlessness, not expedite it…This decision is indefensible. It hands the Executive the power to repeal statutes by firing all those necessary to carry them out. The majority is either willfully blind to the implications of its ruling or naive, but either way the threat to our Constitution’s separation of powers is grave.

Lifting the District Court’s injunction will unleash untold harm, delaying or denying educational opportunities and leaving students to suffer from discrimination, sexual assault, and other civil rights violations without the federal resources Congress intended.”

The Arc’s Position

The Arc believes every student with a disability has the right to a free, appropriate public education in an inclusive setting. The dismantling of the Department of Education undermines this right. Read more in our position statement on education.

Our CEO, Katy Neas (who served in senior leadership at ED), filed a declaration in this case, explaining that without meaningful staffing in ED’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), the federal government cannot effectively monitor or enforce disability rights in schools.

As she stated in the declaration:

“The dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education will have a devastating impact on The Arc’s members, people with IDD and their families. The weakening of federal oversight over special education and civil rights monitoring in schools threatens to take us back to a dark time in our nation’s history when students with disabilities were largely excluded from school, without rights or recourse.”

What Does This Mean for People with Disabilities?

This decision allows the dismantling of ED to move forward now, even though the underlying case hasn’t been decided. The firings included critical staff at OCR and OSERS. Without these staff, it will be harder to investigate discrimination in schools and help schools give students the supports they need.

Once the staff and infrastructure are gone, building them (if the plaintiffs ultimately win) will be slow and difficult. The case is still ongoing, but the Supreme Court’s temporary decision is a major blow to the stability and enforcement of education rights for children with disabilities nationwide.

Where Can I Learn More?