Leveraging the Power of Federal Procurement to Increase the Employment of People with Significant Disabilities

The employment of people with disabilities lags significantly behind the employment of people without disabilities. This article addresses the traditional means for increasing the employment of people with significant disabilities, primarily through anti-discrimination law and affirmative action efforts. It then argues that another effective means for increasing such employment is to expand and modernize an existing federal program that designates certain federal procurement contracts to employers that hire a required percentage of people with significant disabilities.