To mark this historic milestone, Ralph Izzo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (PSEG), shares how his company is proud to support the goals of the ADA. That’s why PSEG is working to promote an accessible and inclusive workplace to create opportunities for employees with disabilities to thrive.

The conference floor was buzzing last May in Minneapolis, where I was speaking as president of the National Organization on Disability, a private nonprofit that focuses on increasing employment opportunities for Americans with disabilities.

I wasn’t alone at the conference: My 27-year-old son, Jacob, who himself has disabilities, had traveled with me from our home in New York City. “It’s ability, not disability, that counts,” Jacob proudly told the attendees, despite complaining of feeling sick to his stomach earlier.

At NOD’s Annual Forum, entitled “ADA at 30: What’s Next”, 68 companies were honored as 2020 NOD Leading Disability Employers.  Now in its sixth year, the NOD Leading Disability Employer Seal recognizes companies that demonstrate exemplary employment practices for people with disabilities. This annual recognition is designed to commend those organizations that are leading the way in disability hiring and to encourage other companies to tap into the many benefits of hiring talent with disabilities, including strong consumer preference for companies that employ individuals with disabilities and greater employee engagement across the workforce.

The inspiring two-hour webcast entitled, “ADA at 30: What’s Next?”, addressed the challenges and opportunities of building a more disability inclusive society in the midst of the global pandemic and the fight for social and economic justice in our country.   

The program paid homage to the activists, officials and allies who enacted the ADA and its promise of equality, and those who fulfilled that legacy by breaking down barriers for Americans with disabilities, especially in the workforce.  Leaders of yesterday and today examined progress made in increasing disability employment and barriers to employment that still remain.

Now that businesses have no reason not to hire someone who works from home, they should consider all the positives of bringing on board people with disabilities. When companies hire people with disabilities, they raise their performance bar. People with disabilities are incredible problem solvers, as they spend much of each day navigating daily challenges. We constantly show persistence, tenacity and adaptability.