ACCESS 2000 Job Fair Seeks to Increase Employment Among People With Disabilities.

City Desks, News/Business Editors

BOTHELL, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 18, 2000

Daniel Mooney fields customer calls for Washington Mutual with the lilting accent of his native Liberia.

None of his customers realize that Mooney uses a wheelchair for mobility and drives his specially equipped van to work not only to Washington Mutual but to a second full time job at Eddie Bauer.

Mooney, one of ten Washington Mutual employees in wheelchairs or walkers, represents the growing number of people with disabilities who are being hired by companies seeking skilled, loyal employees.

"All people with disabilities should be given the opportunity to work because they have the potential to excel at whatever they do," says Mooney, who joined Washington Mutual six months ago.

Faced with continued low unemployment rates, employers are beginning to realize that people with disabilities represent a large untapped labor pool. A Lou Harris and Associates poll recently reported that unemployment among people with disabilities is more than 70 percent, compared with a 4 percent national unemployment rate.

Companies seeking trained people with disabilities will be able to find them at ACCESS 2000 Job Fair, Technology and Resource Expo at Seattle Center Oct. 25 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The annual event is expected to attract more than 600 job seekers and more than 90 employers, technology and resource vendors.

Now in its seventh year, ACCESS 2000 is being held in conjunction this year with the annual National Business Leadership Summit, a two-day gathering of companies and public agencies from across the country. The Summit will be Oct. 26 and 27 at the Westin Hotel.

About 150 people with disabilities find employment through the job fair each year, according to Kathleen West-Evans, a regional representative of the U.S. Department of Education's Rehabilitation Services Administration. It was one of the first in the country and is considered a model program.

Washington Mutual has been one of the sponsors of the annual event from the beginning, and it has a special recruitment program to seek out people with disabilities. The program is headed by Mark Brown, national special recruitment program manager.

"We value all our employees, but those with disabilities bring a special depth of sensitivity and talent to their positions," Brown says. "Most of them became disabled after they were experienced in the workplace, and they are very patient and understanding with people who contact our call centers," Brown adds. "They have the ability to do many different jobs and they tend to stay with the company a long time."

Federal law does not permit companies to keep track of people with disabilities, but Brown knows that Washington Mutual has at least 15 hearing-impaired employees and six who are blind, in addition to the 10 in wheelchairs. The company's Telephone Banking department in Bothell received the Governor's Award in 1998 for its ongoing practice of hiring people with disabilities.

The company's call centers operate 24 hours a day, fielding calls from throughout the country. Although the call center has received national recognition, there are people with disabilities throughout the company.

(Editor's Note: If you would like to interview Mooney or Brown, please call Libby Hutchinson, Corporate Public Relations, Washington Mutual, at 206/461-2484.)

About ACCESS 2000

ACCESS is an annual conference and job fair that has been held in Seattle since 1994. ACCESS focuses on the employment of people with disabilities through networking and interactive education. ACCESS' goal is to meet the employment needs of area businesses through the hiring of qualified employees with disabilities. ACCESS 2000 will be held in a barrier-free environment at the Seattle Center's Northwest Rooms. The President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities recognized ACCESS as a national model and the ACCESS Foundation is established as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

ACCESS and the Washington Business Leadership Network (WBLN) are jointly sponsoring the ACCESS Conference and Job Fair, as well as the National BLN Summit. The events will be held consecutively, have coordinated agendas, and be linked by a transportation system between the Seattle Center and the Westin Hotel.

About the National Business Leadership Network Summit 2000

The National Business Leadership Network Summit 2000's theme is "Discovering Abilities, Building Opportunities" and will address the issues of educating and encouraging companies to hire employees with disabilities. The Washington State Business Leadership Network (WSBLN) is hosting the Summit. WSBLN is a member of the national Business Leadership Network (BLN). The BLN is a business-led program of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.

The committee is an independent Federal agency whose mission is to facilitate employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The WSBLN is made up of employers, who educate and support businesses to hire, retain, and improve customer service toward people with disabilities. The Sponsors of Summit 2000 include AT&T, Active Voice, Association for Persons in Supported Employment (APSE), Boeing, ChatoverIP, Department of Education, Medtronic Physio-Control, Microsoft, Nordstrom, Port of Seattle, Presidents Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, Provail, SAFECO, Washington State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Washington Mutual Bank and Webclipping.com.