Enacted by Congress in 1945, Public Law 176, established October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) to recognize the contributions that individuals with disabilities have made to the workforce and the workplace. Each year, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Elaine L. Chao selects the official theme. This year’s theme is Workers with Disabilities: Talent for a Winning Team. The DOL Office of See the Department of Labor (DOL) Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) leads the nation's activities and produces materials to increase the public's awareness of the contributions and skills of American workers with disabilities.

HHS embraces the theme Workers with Disabilities: Talent for a Winning Team which challenges us to recommit ourselves to reducing under-representation of persons with disabilities in the federal workforce and to make the President’s New Freedom Initiative a reality for millions of Americans.

Please read the Presidential proclamation on National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2007.