BU Law Pike Lecture featuring Chai Feldblum, former Commissioner of the EEOC

The Annual Pike Lecture, "From Mops and Brooms to Cybersecurity: Leveraging the Power of Federal Procurement for People with Disabilities" presented by Chai Feldblum, Disability Rights Advocate and former Commissioner of the EEOC.
People with disabilities continue to face discrimination in the workplace despite laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) designed to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability. The unemployment rate for people with significant disabilities is twice as high as the unemployment rate for people without disabilities. Passage of the ADA has not made a significant dent in this unemployment rate over the past three decades. This lecture will explore the possibilities of leveraging billions of dollars in federal procurement contracts to expand quality employment opportunities for people with significant disabilities. Tracing laws, policies, and social norms from 1938 to the present time, this lecture will present a historical view of a federal procurement program that began with a limited vision of job opportunities for people with significant disabilities to a program that offers the potential to achieve more positive and quality employment opportunities than can be achieved solely through anti-discrimination or affirmative action laws.
This event was held on Friday, October 25, 2024 as part of the Health Law Program Celebration.
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