White House begins series of sessions with employers about hiring people with disabilities

During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama said that his administration would "launch an aggressive effort" to educate employers about how they could receive tax benefits by hiring workers with disabilities.
 
On Nov. 3, 2009, staffers from the White House Office of Public Engagement held two meetings in Chicago at Disabilityworks, a public-private partnership focusing on employment for people with disabilities that operates under the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. In addition to the Chamber of Commerce, the attendees included McDonald"s, Walgreens, Quaker Oats/PepsiCo Chicago, Harris Bank, Northern Trust, Aon and Rush University Medical Center. The White House said that educational efforts on behalf of these tax benefits was discussed at the meetings.
 
The White House said that similar meetings are expected in other locations.
 
In addition, on Oct. 5, 2009, the White House announced that the Justice Department would release a video "that will identify and respond to a number of common myths held by employers about workers with disabilities."
 
These developments sound to us like progress toward keeping this promise. We rate it In the Works.