State Government Employment
Learn about strategies to help state governments become model employers of people with disabilities.
State governments are often the largest employer in many communities, and as such, they play a critical role in workforce diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) across the U.S. Ensuring that state governments maintain equitable practices in hiring and advancement has many benefits, including the ability to tap into a largely underutilized labor pool: people with disabilities. Additional benefits include addressing labor shortages, enhancing productivity, and improving efficiency.
Reflecting this, many states have adopted multifaceted workforce inclusion approaches to support the recruitment, hiring, retention, and advancement of people with disabilities. These are often called State as a Model Employer (SAME) policies.
EARN has a vast array of resources to help state governments achieve their DEIA objectives:
- Quick Links: Explore resources from EARN and our partners that can help state government human resources (HR) staff support the employment of people with disabilities.
- State as a Model Employer (SAME) Strategies: Access comprehensive information about SAME policies and practices to support state government hiring managers and HR staff in their DEIA efforts, especially those focused on disability inclusion.
- Employer Engagement Resources for State Agencies: Find resources for state agencies, such as vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies, American Job Centers, Medicaid offices, mental health agencies, and Developmental Disabilities Councils. These resources may also be used or shared as state partners engage with employers on hiring people with disabilities.
This section of the EARN website was created as part of EARN's collaboration with the State Exchange on Employment & Disability (SEED). SEED is an initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) that assists states and localities in developing effective and inclusive workforce policies that promote disability employment.