THE GEORGIA COUNCIL ON DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES CELEBRATES EARLY WIN AS SENATE BILL 384 PASSES
Written by Tianna Faulkner on .
March 27, 2024 (Atlanta, GA) – The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) celebrated an early win last night at the Georgia state capitol, as both the Georgia Senate and the House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 384 for the State as Model Employer.
Supporting Georgia as a Model Employer (Senate Bill 384) requires that Georgia's state agencies set goals for the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities, and it also puts the state of Georgia in position to be a leading example for employers throughout the state.
“I have been working to get this bill passed since the Senate Study Committee on Georgia's Workforce last summer. I stand behind this bill because the state of Georgia government itself, including state agencies, is one of the largest employers in the state, and our workforce is rapidly growing,” said Senator Billy Hickman, who sponsored the bill last night. “We have to be strategic in how we hire and who we hire, and there are hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities in Georgia's workforce who want to work but do not have a job. This legislation encourages the state to be a leader in recruiting from this talent pool and we are excited that the state of Georgia will now be a leader in disability employment.”
Reasonings behind why GCDD pushed for Georgia to be a Model Employer state include that Georgia as a Model Employer (GAME) establishes the state as a leader in inclusive hiring best-practices, creating an example for private sector employers to follow. Also, inclusive hiring of people with disabilities strengthens Georgia communities by making sure that everyone has a meaningful part to play. Additionally, the state's benefits of enacting GAME outweigh the costs of not acting - both economically and socially.
“I am so excited to see SB 384 (Georgia as a Model Employer) pass through the Georgia General Assembly,” said Charlotte Densmore, GCDD’s Public Policy Director. “This historic workforce development bill will impact hundreds of thousands of Georgians with disabilities by encouraging state agencies to be more strategic in the recruitment and retention of this often-under-tapped talent pool.”
GCDD has also been working to get two other bills passed including HB 1125, which will put an end to the 14c certificate, where it is legal to pay people with disabilities sub-minimum wages and SB 198, which will create an innovation commission for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Both bills are currently pending.
For more information or for updates, visit www.gcdd.org.
About the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities: The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is the State's leader in advancing public policy on behalf of persons with developmental disabilities. Its mission is to bring about social and policy changes that promote opportunities for the wide spectrum of diverse people/persons with developmental disabilities and their families to live, learn, work, play, and worship in their communities. www.gcdd.org