Charting the Course:
Accommodating and Employing People with Disabilities

Tentative Agenda

Sunday, September 19

6:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M. Registration

Monday, September 20

7:30 A.M. - 9:00 A.M. Registration and Continental Breakfast. Prefunction Area.

9:00 A.M. - 10:15 A.M. Opening General Session. Salon A&B.

• Welcome - Lou Orslene, JAN..
• Keynote: Putting a Face on Disability - Richard Pimentel, Milt Wright and Associates.

10:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. Florida Alliance for Assistive Service and Technology (FAAST) Hands-on AT Demonstration Room Open. Magnolia.

10:00 A.M. - 6:30 P.M. Exhibits. Prefunction Area.

10:15 A.M. - 10:30 A.M. Break. Prefunction Area.

10:30 A.M. - 11:45 A.M. Concurrent Sessions.

• Ergonomics in the Workplace. Salon C.
  Beth Loy, Ph.D. and John Greer, M.S.
  The presenters will examine two ergonomic case studies which are from industrial and office settings. They will explore high and low tech options for accommodations and will discuss administrative and engineering modifications.
• Disability Strategies Focused on the Bottom Line: The ROI for incorporating disability into your diversity strategy. Sawgrass.
  Katherine McCary, Vice President Human Resources, Accessing Community Talent Program, SunTrust Bank; Virginia Business Leadership Network, US Business Leadership Network.
  Erin Riehle, Director of Disability Services and Project SEARCH, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital; Ohio Business Leadership Network.
  Eladio Amores, President, Amores Group, Inc.; Florida Business Leadership Network.
  This panel of employers will share their top ten reasons to incorporate disability employment into your hiring strategies. Learn the tangible benefits that employers have realized simply by including workers with disabilities in their workforce. The panelists will offer practical advice to other employers seeking to make the business case to include disability in the organizations’ diversity programs. Leveraging Leaders, Compelling Results.
• Not Alone in the Universe: The larger world of employment
  laws beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act. Salon A/B.
  Joan M. Canny, J.D., Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson.
  This session covers employment laws beyond the Americans with
  Disabilities Act that may come into play in disability and accommodation
  situations in the workplace, such as wage and hour, occupational safety
  and health, family and medical leave, and workers' compensation laws.
  The focus will be on spotting when these other employment laws might
  apply, to ensure compliance with these laws when addressing disability
  and accommodation issues.

12:00 P.M. - 1:30 P.M. Luncheon: The New Apprentice. Salon D&E. Dinah Cohen. M.S., Director of the Department of Defense Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP).

1:45 P.M. - 3:00 P.M. Concurrent Sessions.

• Play Jeopardy! And Learn about Accommodations with the JAN Motor Team. Salon A/B.
  Beth Loy, Ph.D.; John Greer, M.S.; and Linda Batiste, J.D.; with a guest appearance by Kendra Duckworth, M.S.
  Join the JAN Motor Team for an interactive game of Accommodation Jeopardy. The Team will share their unique experiences in providing accommodation ideas for individuals with motor impairments (e.g., paraplegia, cancer, heart conditions, hernia, carpal tunnel syndrome, back conditions) Come with your questions and the Motor Team will be on hand with answers!
• Disability Awareness 101. Sawgrass.
  Suzanne Gosden, M.A.
  In this disability awareness session, employers will learn to challenge stereotypes about people with disabilities. Employers will be introduced to methods, activities and resources they can utilize to promote tolerance, and heighten sensitivity of disabilities in their workforce.
• Reasonable Accommodation and the ADA Process. Salon C.
  Tracie Saab, M.S.
  You've received a request for accommodation. What do you do next? Does the individual have a disability under the ADA? How much information can be requested to make this determination? How do you know what accommodations will be needed? The answers to these questions and more will be answered as the presenters guide participants through the 5 step Reasonable Accommodation and ADA process.

3:00 P.M. - 3:15 P.M. Break. Prefunction Area.

3:15 P.M. - 4:30 P.M. Concurrent Sessions.

• Accommodation Ideas for Infectious Diseases and Blood Disorders. Salon C.
  Mandy, J. Gamble, M.S., M.B.A.
  This session will provide practical advice and resources for accommodating workers with infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis A, B, or C, and tuberculosis. Discussion will also include accommodation ideas for other conditions such as hemophilia and sickle cell anemia.
• Lost in Translation: Understanding Disability Management. Sawgrass.
  Dinah Cohen, M.S., Director, Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program.
  The presenter will review requirements and best practices regarding the employment of people with disabilities throughout their employment life cycle, including recruitment, hiring, promotion, and retention. The session will also address accommodations to support employees with disabilities.
• Workplace Accommodation Challenges. Salon A/B.
  Tracie Saab, M.S. and Linda Batiste, J.D.
  This presentation will review some of the more difficult and obscure aspects of reasonable accommodation. Challenges to be discussed include transportation and work-related travel, accommodating work-related personal needs, modifying workplace policies, evacuation and safety issues, telework, and providing personal assistance services (PAS).

4:30 P.M. - 6:30 P.M. Reception: Hors d’oeuvres, entertainment and cash bar. Prefunction Area.

Tuesday, September 21

7:30 A.M. - 8:30 A.M. Continental Breakfast. Prefunction Area.

8:30 A.M. - 9:45 A.M. Concurrent Sessions.

• Transitioning Disabled Servicemembers - From Benefits to Rehabilitation to Reemployment. Sawgrass.
  Ronald W. Drach, Director of Strategic Planning and Legislative Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor, Veterans' Employment and Training Service; Kendra Duckworth, M.S.; and John Greer, M.S.
  This session will be a discussion on the transition from military to civilian life and will include a brief explanation of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) compensation, the role of VA's vocational rehabilitation (including assistance with exercising the disabled servicemember's reemployment rights), and the services offered by DOL's Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) and its federally funded state programs. This session will also offer accommodation ideas for veterans with disabilities.
• Equivalent Access to Electronic Information Sharing Projects/Programs in the Work Setting. Salon C.
  Julie M. Shaw, Executive ADA Administrator, Florida Governor's Working Group on the ADA.
  Persons with disabilities need equivalent access to electronic information technology (EIT) in the work place. In most cases, the EIT that employees with disabilities use is not accessible for them to maximize the quality of their work and contributions to the organization. The Florida Governor's Working Group on the ADA has initiated a program to assist government and organizations to access the equivalency and accessibility of their EIT. This session will share best practices tools and techniques to access, test and report on accessible EIT under Section 508 standards.
• Extreme Accommodation: Watch a Live ADA Makeover! Salon A/B.
  Beth Loy, Ph.D., Linda Batiste, J.D, and Suzanne Gosden, M.A. with a guest appearance by Kim Kerns.
  JAN Consultants will perform an accommodation skit with scenes that illustrate the interactive process between a supervisor and employee. Scene breaks will provide a summary of intricate ADA issues.

9:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. Florida Alliance for Assistive Service and Technology (FAAST) Hands-on AT Demonstration Room Open. Magnolia

9:30 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. Exhibits. Prefunction Area.

9:45 A.M. - 10:00 A.M. Break. Prefunction Area.

10:00 A.M. - 11:15 A.M. Concurrent Sessions.

• How to Handle Psychiatric Disabilities in the Workplace: Balancing Issues of Behavior, Direct Threat, and Reasonable Accommodation. Salon C.
  Kendra Duckworth, M.S.
  This session will focus on enforcing standards of behavior and conduct and accommodating employees with psychiatric disabilities in the workplace. Accommodation suggestions, discussion about direct threat, and information regarding relevant court cases will be offered. Active participation and discussion will be encouraged.
• Demystifying Workplace Accommodations: Strategies, Effectiveness, Benefits and Costs. Sawgrass.
  Helen A. Schartz, Ph.D., J.D., Director of Research, Health Policy & Disability Center at the Iowa College of Law; Peter Blanck, Ph.D., J.D., Director, Health Policy & Disability Center at the Iowa College of Law; and Anne Hirsh, M.S., Job Accommodation Network.
  Job accommodations help people with disabilities work, whether they have a pre-existing disability or are returning to work following an illness or injury. Yet, the accommodation process often is perceived as one that lacks innovation, is unresponsive to employer and employee needs, and has a low cost-benefit ratio. Using preliminary data from customer satisfaction interviews of JAN clients, this session demystifies accommodation preconceptions and concerns. Presenters share preliminary findings on types and effectiveness of accommodation solutions from employer and employee perspectives; present a new cost-benefit analysis paradigm; discuss examples of accommodation situations and solutions; and share effective employer practices and experiences.
• Employer Pitfalls and Best Practices. Salon A/B.
  Jeanne Goldberg, J.D., Senior Attorney Advisor, ADA Policy Division, Office of Legal Counsel, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
  This session will address the most common legal mistakes employers make when processing reasonable accommodation requests and the best practices that will help you avoid these pitfalls.

11:15 A.M. - 12:45 P.M. Luncheon. Salon D&E.
From Military to Civilian -- Then and Now. Ronald W. Drach, Director of Strategic Planning and Legislative Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor, Veterans' Employment and Training Service

1:00 P.M. - 2:15 P.M. Concurrent Sessions.

• Accommodate This! Roundtable discussion. Sawgrass.
  JAN Consultants
  An opportunity for attendees to present their accommodation questions to JAN Consultants and talk with other employers about their accommodation experiences.
• Talent for Hire: Recruiting Qualified Applicants with Disabilities. Salon A/B.
  Lisa L. Lahrman who serves as the Supervisory Program Specialist in charge of the Program Management Division of the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), Department of Labor; Dan Betts who serves as the Marketing Supervisor for the Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program, administered through MAXIMUS Workforce Services Division; Jane Rath who serves as a Principal with Cherry Engineering Support Services, Inc - a Washington-based consulting firm providing a range of information technology and disability related services to the Federal government; James Shalls who serves as a Supervisor for the Florida State Vocational Rehabilitation Services.
  This panel will present information regarding federal government, state, and local programs and resources that can help employers recruit qualified workers with disabilities, and meet their workforce needs.
• ADA/Legislative Roundtable. Salon C.
  James Schmeling, J.D., Associate Director, Health Policy & Disability Center at the Iowa College of Law.
  An opportunity for attendees to ask questions about employment-related legal issues they have faced under the ADA and similar legislation.

2:15 P.M. - 2:30 P.M. Break. Prefunction Area.

2:30 P.M. - 3:30 P.M. Closing Session. Americans with Disabilities and their Civil Rights: Past, Present, and Future. Salon A&B.
Anne Hirsh, JAN.
Peter Blanck, Ph.D., J.D., Director, Health Policy & Disability Center at the Iowa College of Law.

3:30 P.M. - 4:00 P.M. CEUs Issued at Registration Desk. Prefunction Area.