Employment First Act

Georgia’s Employment First Act became law on May 8, 2018. This Act promotes employment as the first and preferred option offered to people with disabilities receiving government funded services. 

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As the law states,

The General Assembly finds and declares that competitive integrated employment, including self-employment, in the general workforce is the first and preferred option in the provision of publicly funded services for all working age citizens with disabilities, regardless of the level of disability (Georgia House Bill 831, 2018, p. 1).

 

The General Assembly chose to define competitive integrated employment as,

work, including self-employment, in the labor market performed on a full-time or part-time basis in a setting in which an individual with a disability interacts with individuals without disabilities in all aspects of the job function and for which such individual with a disability is compensated at or above the level of salary and benefits paid by the employer for the same or similar work performed by individuals without disabilities (Georgia House Bill 831, 2018, p. 2).

 

In addition to the above, Georgia’s Employment First Act creates a Council of 14 members. These members include representatives from state agencies, employment providers, businesses, individuals with disabilities, and family members. The Council overall goal is to monitor the implementation and assimilation of a policy that acknowledges competitive integrated employment as the foremost and ideal option of all state funded services.

 

Click here for the full text of the final version of Georgia’s Employment First Act.