Does anyone have experience with SEA program for civil service? Schedule A program for disabilities?

2016-02-06T09:19:09-05:00

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Feb 6 at 2016 10:35 AM

2016-02-06T10:35:53-05:00

As a former senior GS hiring manager, it's a quagmire primarily because OPM and EEOC look at the program differently. Secondly, we rarely saw an applicant that took proper advantage of it. OPM stipulates interviewers can discuss disability as it pertains to being physically or mentally able to do the job. EEOC says you can't ask disability related questions. HR screens the applicants for initial job suitability, hence hiring managers will initially get queries from HR about abilities needed to perform the work safely and not be a danger to themselves or others. That said, since our office was pretty much an administrative business setting, we had a sprinkling of folk who came in through the program while we made some physical accommodation for them. That's called figuring out a way for a good person to work well. There is a requirement that the employee perform at or above minimum performance levels. That's why there is a probationary period.

Sometimes HR wants to put a "disabled bean" into their pocket and I had to stand my ground over issues like "No, you can't have a blind employee walking around on a construction site." That's when you remind the HR head that they do not have line authority. That's a rare thing as good HR people know that collaboration is the best way forward with the hiring managers.

BTW, service connected disability which provides either 5 or 10 point preference (only good for initial hire, RIF, but not promotions), Veteran Recruitment Authority (VRA), Hire a Hero, and the list goes on for Military, are all tools which get used. Good hiring managers see these tools as making their life easier. The general problem we've seen with Vets overall, disabled or not, is they apply for positions for which they are not qualified to perform. It frequently hits with retired senior officers thinking we owe them a high grade GS job because they exist. Commands that do hire too many exMils for senior positions tend to lose their "business sense" and start getting sideways with HR/OPM on civilian management issues because they have no in-depth experience with this stuff. Add to that long term civilians who see they can't promote to those positions, it's a morale killer.