Individuals with Disabilities | Careers

Selective Placement Program/Schedule A

In the non-competitive hiring process, agencies may use a special authority to hire individuals with targeted disabilities without requiring them to compete for the job. Individuals that may fall under this special hiring authority include individuals with intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities.

Here's what you need to know.

Individuals with disabilities may apply through the competitive hiring process, or in some circumstances, under the non-competitive hiring authority for individuals with disabilities (Schedule A).
For consideration under the non-competitive hiring authority (Schedule A), send a resume, description of your career interests, your geographic preferences, and proof of disability to the Selective Placement Coordinator in your region.
Disabled veterans may also be considered under special hiring programs. Please contact our Veterans Employment team.
Targeted Disabilities include severe disabilities, such as blindness, deafness, partial and full paralysis, missing extremities, dwarfism, epilepsy, intellectual disabilities, and some forms of psychiatric disabilities. Individuals with targeted disabilities many times have the greatest difficulty finding employment. As a matter of policy, the federal government has a special emphasis on recruiting, hiring, and retaining individuals with targeted disabilities.

Reference this guide to non-competitive hiring authority (Schedule A) for more information.

Reasonable Accommodations

Reasonable Accommodations (RA) are modifications or adjustments to a job or change in the work environment that enables a person with a disability to compete equally or perform the essential functions of the position. A RA also includes adjustments to assure an individual with a disability has equal benefits and privileges of employment enjoyed by other similarly situated employees without disabilities. The accommodation must be job related e.g. hearing aids, prosthetic devices, wheelchairs, and transportation to work.

Here's what you need to know.

Accommodations also include:

Assistive technology.
Readers and assistants.
Interpreter services.
Specialized training on the use of assistive devices.
Modified job duties and restructured work sites.
Accessible technology or other workplace adaptive equipment.

RAs can apply to the duties of the job and/or where or how job tasks are performed.

Visit OPM's Disability Employment Reasonable Accommodations for more information.

Job Search & Hiring Process

Hiring officials are prohibited from asking questions about your disability unless the questions relate to your ability to perform the essential functions of the position and are consistent with the business needs of the position.

Here's what you need to know.

In addition to going to USAJOBS and researching jobs, an individual may also contact a Selective Placement Program Coordinator for employment help.
To review the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's guidance about questions hiring officials can ask about an applicant's disability, please visit the Enforcement Guidance: Pre-employment Disability-Related Questions and Medical Examinations.

Vocational Rehabilitation

Social Security supports the State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies in their efforts to help prepare people with disabilities for jobs and teach them job skills.

For more information, visit:

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a person with a disability apply for Federal jobs?

Individuals may explore career opportunities via USAJOBS or contact one of our Selective Placement Coordinators to find out more information about qualifications. Additional programs exist for veterans, students, and ticket holders.

Where can college students with a disability get information?

The Workforce Recruitment Program is a recruitment and referral program that connects federal sector employers nationwide with highly motivated college students and recent graduates with disabilities who are eager to prove their abilities in the workplace through summer or permanent jobs.

As an individual with intellectual, severe physical, or psychiatric disabilities, what documentation must I provide when applying for a job?

If an individual competes for an appointment through the regular application process just as most non-disabled applicants must do, then no documentation is required beyond what is outlined in the vacancy announcement.

Individuals with intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities may also be eligible for consideration under the Schedule A hiring authority where, if eligible, he or she may be appointed non-competitively. To qualify for employment under the Schedule A hiring authority, a person must have proof of his/her disability.

"Proof of a disability" is a letter stating that you have an intellectual disability, severe physical disability or psychiatric disability. You can get this letter from your doctor, a licensed medical professional, a licensed vocational rehabilitation specialist, or any Federal, state, or local agency that issues or provides disability benefits. Many doctors and most of the entities listed above know how to format a Schedule A letter.

Do disabled veterans receive any special consideration when applying for Federal jobs?

Yes. Disabled veterans may qualify for a non-competitive appointment.

Is an agency required to provide a reasonable accommodation to an employee?

Yes. An individual is entitled to a reasonable accommodation if they have a disability, needs an accommodation to perform the essential functions of the position, and if an accommodation will not create an undue hardship for the employer.

A reasonable accommodation is any change made in the work environment or the way things are usually done that insures Equal Employment Opportunity for applicants and employees with disabilities. For applicants, accommodations are made to provide full access to the application process. For employees, accommodations are made to enable the individual to successfully perform the essential functions of the position. In addition, accommodations are made for employees to ensure that they have full access to the benefits and privileges of employment.

There is no requirement for the reasonable accommodation to be the exact accommodation that the employee requests; however, it must be an effective accommodation for the employee to perform the essential functions of the position.

For more information, visit: