Online Toolkit Promotes Inclusive Workplaces
The U.S. Department of Labor launched the Workplace Flexibility Toolkit during National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
The Labor Department launched an online Workplace Flexibility Toolkit to promote inclusive workplaces and to help employees, job seekers, employers, policymakers, and researchers with information, resources, and a what DOL describes as a unique approach to workplace flexibility.
Workplace flexibility policies and practices, its release explains, typically focus on when and where work is done. The toolkit adds an emphasis on flexibility of job tasks and what kind of work is done.
Two DOL units, the Office of Disability Employment Policy and the Women's Bureau, funded the toolkit's creation. It makes more than 170 resources available, "particularly for workers and job seekers with complex employment situations, such as parents of young children, single parents, family caregivers, mature workers, at-risk youth, ex-offenders, and individuals with disabilities, including veterans with disabilities and people with HIV/AIDS," the release states.
"Workplace flexibility is a universal strategy that promotes an inclusive workforce and levels the playing field for people with disabilities," said Kathy Martinez, assistant secretary of labor for disability employment policy. "These resources and unique approach will help all workers with complex employment situations become more productive."
The toolkit is available at http://www.dol.gov/odep/workplaceflexibility/. It points visitors to a variety of resources -- case studies, tip sheets, issue briefs, reports, articles, websites with additional information, frequently asked questions, and more. Additional information will be added to the toolkit as it is identified, according to the agency.
National Disability Employment Awareness Month this year has the theme "A Strong Workforce is an Inclusive Workforce: What Can YOU Do?"