34:1A-1.21 Findings, declarations.
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. More than 19 million people in the United States work in state and local governments, and more than 570,000 people have public sector jobs in New Jersey, including 130,000 State government employees, employed in a wide variety of jobs and occupations, including accountants, corrections officers, mail clerks, chaplains, social workers, doctors, lawyers, teachers, and computer programmers;
b. People with disabilities can benefit from the experience of employment in State agencies, gaining skills and receiving benefits through both internships and employment in the public sector and the State can benefit from the contributions that they can make as State employees;
c. Nine states have instituted within their human resources agencies policies and programs that foster the inclusion of people with disabilities into state government jobs, including provisional appointments, alternative examination and interview processes, trial work periods, and special appointment lists;
d. As a leading employer, and as an employer providing many well-paid, quality jobs with ample paid time off and medical and pension benefits, the State of New Jersey can set an important example to other employers, especially private sector employers, by increasing its efforts to recruit and retain in employment individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities; and
e. It is therefore appropriate to establish a Task Force to Promote the Employment by State Agencies of People with Disabilities for the purposes of studying the problem of unemployment and underemployment among individuals in New Jersey with disabilities, reviewing existing programs in this and other states, and private sector companies, to recruit and retain in employment individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and assisting in the identification and implementation of strategies to expand efforts of New Jersey State agencies to recruit and retain in employment individuals with disabilities, including by providing guidance and support to agencies and institutions of higher education.
L.2021, c.84, s.1.