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    Executive Order 14-14

    Several advocates and state agencies were interviewed by Ariel Tilson from TPT Almanac as part of the announcement of Executive Order 14-14. Original broadcast date: August 29, 2014. Clip courtesy of Twin Cities PBS. All Rights Reserved. 

    In 1999, ten percent of state employees had a disability. The number had plummeted to 3.8% in 2014.  

    Who this impacts

    • Current and future State of Minnesota employees with disabilities, including those who are deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing
    • State agencies, commissions, and boards

    Solution

    Governor Dayton's Executive Order 14-14, signed August 4, 2014, required that at least 7% of state employees be people with disabilities. In 2014, the employment level was 3.8%. MNCDHH staff and board were the lead negotiators. The order includes language that staff will be trained on the benefits of hiring people with disabilities, reinstates a state law that allows qualified applicants with disabilities to be hired without a competitive process (Connect 700), and that a website track and monitor the state's progress on meeting the hiring goals. MNCDHH sat on the cross-agency committee that meetings bi-monthly to ensure implementation. View Executive Order 14-14 (PDF).

    MNCDHH co-created the Executive Order 14-14 landing page that tracks the percentage of employees with disabilities and also has a spreadsheet that breaks it down per state agency.  The landing page includes information on disability etiquette and laws and policies.  

    The State of Minnesota reached the 7% goal in August 2018, which was the goal set in the order. 

    Governor Dayton has completed his term. On April 1, 2019, Governor Tim Walz decided to continue the order and signed Executive Order 19-15 (PDF), which requires that at least 10% of state employees be people with disabilities. This will bring the percentage up to what it was back in 1999. MNCDHH will continue to support this effort.

    Who was involved

    • Ann Feaman, ADA Coordinator, MMB
    • Colleen Wieck, Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities 
    • David Rosenthal, Director, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Division DHS
    • Joan Willshire, Executive Director Minnesota State Council on Disability
    • Kim Moccia, Program Coordinator Minnesota STAR Program 
    • Kim Peck, Director Vocational Rehabilitation Services DEED
    • Richard Strong, Director State Services for the Blind
    • Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind & Hard of Hearing (MNCDHH) Employment Task Force
    • Alan Parnes, Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind & Hard of Hearing (MNCDHH)
    • Ann Feaman, Minnesota Management and Budget ADA Coordinator
    • Blaine Lashbrook, Director Minnesota Employment Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing
    • Brad Harper, Superintendent MN State Academies
    • Christine Marble, CEO Career Ventures
    • Diane Currie Richardson, Rehabilitation Counselor DEED
    • Dave Smith, Work Placement State Services for the Blind
    • Don Lavin, Strengths at Work 
    • Elise Knopf, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Coordinator Vocational Rehabilitation Services 
    • Jessalyn Frank, Regional Director Communication Services for the Deaf
    • Joan Distler, Rise, Inc
    • John Lee Clark, Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind & Hard of Hearing (MNCDHH)
    • Katy Kelley, State Services for the Blind 
    • Lisa Holden, DEED
    • Marie Koehler, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Division
    • Mary Jo Duncan, Minnesota Employment Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing
    • Nick Maryns, Governor’s Workforce Development Council
    • Ron Adams, Employment Specialist DEED
    • Sherri Rademacher, State Rehabilitation Council
    • Sonny Wasilowski, Minnesota Association of Deaf Citizens
    • Steve Franz, Minnesota State College and University System
    • Steve Kuntz, Vocational Rehabilitation
    • Tina Sundae, VECTOR Intermediate School District 287
    • Wendy DeVore, Career Ventures
    • Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB)
    • Commissioner Schowalter
    • Assistant Commissioner O’Brien
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