At SHRM Blueprint, the right and left appeared to agree on one aspect of DEI: Disability inclusion

It’s rare for people on opposite sides of the political aisle to agree on anything these days—even pizza toppings. But at SHRM Blueprint this week, they seemed to reach one consensus: Workplace disability inclusion efforts are acceptable.

Background. The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed in 1990 as a bipartisan effort that, in part, gave disabled people protections at private employers. Since then, employers have been required by law to provide accommodations to applicants and workers, like any other protected class, and not discriminate on the basis of disability.

Before the ADA, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 required federal contractors to take affirmative action steps to hire more disabled workers.

Many employers have established measures that go beyond the ADA and Section 503, through efforts like employee resource groups and neurodiversity hiring programs. Microsoft, Wells Fargo, and Dell all boast initiatives that develop neurodivergent employees.

These programs have historically been seen as “safe” DEI programs, David Glasgow, co-founder of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at New York University School of Law, told HR Brew in 2024. “I don’t think that there’s any significant risk for organizations continuing to do very progressive work on disability inclusion.”

Rare consensus. Several main stage speakers at SHRM Blueprint referenced disability inclusion as one aspect of DEI that can and should continue.

Victoria Lipnic, former assistant secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush expressed concern over the future of Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act enforcement under the Trump administration, given that it has rolled back other affirmative action programs for federal contractors.

However, Catherine Eschbach, the Trump administration-appointed head of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to Section 503 requirements during her remarks.

“You’re going to see them turn in earnest and start looking at as you’re looking at, what does affirmative action look like on behalf of veterans and persons with disability,” Eschbach said. “For OFCCP right now, it’s really focused on Section 503, and VEVRAA [Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act] functions and its day-to-day work, and that largely is taking complaints under those statutes, because that is something that is required as a statutory function.”

Conservative anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck acknowledged the need for the ADA during his conversation with CNN commentator Van Jones. “The ADA is obviously good legislation,” he remarked, before continuing to issue attacks on DEI at large.

For his part, Jones told an audience member during the Q&A portion that he has “blind spots” when it comes to disability inclusion, but that “there are many forms of difference and disadvantage that I appreciate.”

“It is top of mind…but all of us need to remember that it’s not just the visible disabilities,” SHRM CEO Johnny C. Taylor Jr. added. “We all feel a certain way when you see someone in a wheelchair or someone who we can tell someone who’s blind, we see these things. There are a lot of invisible disabilities that Americans are confronting, and we need to make sure that we are sensitive to that.”

Potential hurdles ahead. Despite the agreement, experts warn that disabled workers face an uncertain, uphill battle. This year’s unemployment rate for disabled workers has increased by 1.2 percentage points since 2023 to 8.6%, double the rate for non-disabled workers (4.3%).

Earlier this year, the Department of Labor said it will abandon plans to end the subminimum wage, which allows employers to pay some disabled workers pennies on the dollar, HR Brew previously reported.

While Eschbach hinted at support for disability hiring programs during her remarks, Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer reportedly wants to end disabled worker hiring goals for federal contractors, according to Mother Jones. The Centers for Disease Control, meanwhile, ended remote work options for disabled workers in September, which is a best practice for disability inclusion.

“The Trump administration is waging a war on disabled people and working to undo the hard-won rights our elders secured,” California congresswoman Lateefah Simon said in a statement in September. “They want to roll back protections, weaken enforcement, and make our communities invisible again.”