Employment For Persons With Disabilities

	U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Antitrust Division CHRISTINE A. VARNEY Assistant Attorney General
	RFK Main Justice Building 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530-0001 (202) 514-2401 / (202) 616-2645 (Fax) E-mail: antitrust.atr@usdoj.gov Web site: http://www.usdoj.gov/atr October 20, 2010

Dear Disability Community Members and Leaders:

The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has a critical mission to support a vibrant and competitive American economy, and the Division recognizes that a richly diverse staff makes better decisions in furtherance of its mission.

Therefore, we seek a workforce composed of a wide cross section of America.  In support of this goal, I hope all members of the disability community will consider applying for positions with the Antitrust  Division.  I also ask for your assistance in alerting individuals you may know in the disability community about possible employment opportunities at the Antitrust Division.

The Antitrust Division is actively seeking application by all qualified persons who voluntarily self-identify as disabled and who wish to join the Division.  An Executive Order, signed by President Barack Obama on July 26, 2010, renews the commitment of the Federal Government to hire 100,000 persons with disabilities into the Executive Branch over the next five years.  Attorney General Eric Holder also has committed to increase the diversity of the Department’s career civil service workforce.

To support the Federal Government’s efforts to enhance the diversity and full inclusion of persons with disabilities (among others) in the federal workforce, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management has promulgated Schedule A hiring authority.  This authority provides an additional Federal recruitment process for attorneys and non-attorneys with disabilities, who meet the requirements of 5 CFR 213.3102(u) and who initiate voluntary self-identification of disability, to be appointed to career positions with the Antitrust Division and within the overall Federal government.   The Job Accommodation Network provides valuable guidance on the Schedule A hiring process and is available at http://www.askJAN.org/lead.

Employment Opportunity Resources

• To assist in the hiring of individuals with disabilities under the Schedule A hiring process, the Antitrust Division has an on-line job bank into which qualified individuals may submit their resume for use in filling Division job vacancies.  These resumes are kept active for up to one year. 
• Attorney job announcements for the Antitrust Division and the Department of Justice may be found at http://www.justice.gov/oarm/attvacancies.html.  Other Department of Justice employment opportunities are posted at usajobs.gov
• Undergraduate and graduate students with disabilities (including law students) should consider joining the Antitrust Division as interns through the Workforce Recruitment Program (http://www.wrp.gov or e-mail wrp@dol.gov), an inter-agency effort lead by  the Office of Disability Policy of the U.S. Department of Labor.  Additional guidance on this program may be obtained from Carlton Coleman at (202) 616-4813 (voice), or via e-mail at Carlton.M.Coleman@usdoj.gov.

Those seeking to work for the Division either as employees or interns also are encouraged to inform the Attorney General’s Committee on the Employment of Persons with Disabilities in order to secure additional assistance in moving through the selection process and to help ensure that candidates are supported in their efforts to join the Department.  Frederick Parmenter is the Chair of this Committee and may be contacted at (202) 307-0620 [Voice/Relay] or via email at Frederick.Parmenter@usdoj.gov.

I also have designated Mr. Parmenter, who is an attorney in the Division's Litigation II Section, to recruit members of the disability community.  Please let him know if you have suggestions for furthering the employment of individuals with disabilities in the Antitrust Division. 

If you have ideas that may be effective for the Department of Justice overall, please contact Ollie Cantos on (202) 616-3030 (voice).  Ollie is instrumental in furthering the Attorney General's commitment to employ individuals with disabilities throughout the Department of Justice.

By using the talents, skills, and abilities of all persons, including those with disabilities, we will continue to uphold the value of competition in the American marketplace through our work in the Antitrust Division as an integral part of the U.S. Department of Justice. 

Thank you, in advance, for helping make participation in this process an opportunity for all.