| The significantly low rate of employment for persons with disabilities is a major societal concern. Because of underemployment, high unemployment, and overall lower earning rates, this demographic encounters a disproportionately high level of poverty. Within the federal civil service, employees with disabilities do not achieve similar employment outcomes as compared to federal employees without disabilities. Several studies have examined the employment outcomes of federal employees with disabilities. However, these studies did not assess the efficacy of the efforts to improve the employment-related experiences and outcomes among federal employees with disabilities from the perspectives of these employees. The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore and arrive at a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of the initiatives intended to improve employment-related experiences and outcomes among individuals with disabilities in the setting of the federal civil service, give voice to, and explore the employment experiences from the perspectives of federal employees with disabilities. Federal employees with disabilities made up the population of interest for this study. Purposeful sampling combined with convenience sampling was used to select participants for this study. The purposefully selected sample was comprised of 3 males and 1 female. Their grades ranged from GS9 to GS12. The participants included a federal employee who is deaf/hard of hearing, a federal employee with a psychological impairment, and two federal employees with severe physical disabilities. The following themes related to the employment experiences and related outcomes of federal employees with disabilities emerged: (a) positive work experiences, (b) empowerment, (c) organizational incapacity, and (d) biased supervisor and coworker attitudes. Federal employees with disabilities have benefitted from federal disability employment efforts, and despite the well-intended goals related to federal disability employment efforts, factors remain that still negatively impact the employment experiences and related outcomes of federal employees with disabilities. Future research may narrow the research focus to a specific disability. In addition, the impact of race, sex, or ethnicity and the confluence of disability on the employment experiences and related outcomes of federal employees can also be explored. |
