riwc_para_a039 evaluation of german employment programme
TRANSCRIPT
Evaluating the German Federal Disability Equal Treatment Law
- Council for disabled employees and accessibility in
government agencies -
Prof. Dr. Felix Welti/Diana Ramm, M.A.University of Kassel, Faculty of Humanities, Institute of Social Work, Chair for Social- and Health Law, Rehabilitation and Disability Law, Germany
German Federal Disability Equal Treatment Law
Disability Equal Treatment Law (Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz; BGG)
came into force in 2002
It is closely related to the Social Code Book IX (SGB IX) and the General
Equal Treatment Act (AGG) Laws were intended to implement the ban on discrimination on the grounds of
disability based in the Basic Law (Grundgesetz), and in the Employment Equality
Directive 2000/78/EC
Most fundamental legal change for persons with disabilities had been
achieved in 1994 'No person shall be disfavored because of disability' has been added to section 3
para. 3 of the German Basic Law
German Federal Disability Equal Treatment Law
Social Code Book IX - framework legislation and covers the main areas of
social law, i.e. social insurance and social assistance In general, it aims at establishing social inclusion, participation and self-
determination for persons with disabilities
General Equality Act applies to persons with disabilities and other
marginalized groups It guarantees i.e. the right to non-discrimination in employment, access to goods
and services, buying and renting property
Disability Equal Treatment Law guarantees persons with disabilities the right
to non-discrimination and accessibility to public authorities It guarantees i.e. the right to communication, and acknowledges sign language as
an official language
German Federal Disability Equal Treatment Law
Germany ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities (CRPD)
BGG is supposed to fulfil the obligations from the Convention Research objective was to analyse if and how the BGG sufficiently meets the
obligations arising from the CRPD
The National Action Plan for the implementation of the CRPD required an
evaluation of this law
Evaluation has been commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Labor and
Social Affairs (BMAS) Examined compatibility of the BGG with the CRPD
Included the question of whether an interpretation is compliant with the CRPD and
whether changes in the BGG are required
German Federal Disability Equal Treatment Law
Project evaluation objectives were to estimate whether the needs of disabled
persons are met and whether the instruments were appropriate to achieve the
aims of the law
Specifications of the CRPD and aspects of disability mainstreaming and
gender mainstreaming should be fully respected
Our research team consisted of legal and social scientists
We combined jurisprudential analyses with surveys
Jurisprudential analysis should reappraise the existing documents for BGG
from parliamentary work, from jurisdiction, and from legal literature
Our research also aimed to identify the relevant issues of application and legal
interpretation
German Federal Disability Equal Treatment Law
Employees of selected agencies within the scope of the BGG and
representatives from organizations and associations of disabled people on the
national, regional and local level were surveyed
In particular we selected agencies which have every day citizen contact as the
Federal Employment Agency and some Public Health Insurance bodies
We aimed to reach not only those individuals who already had outstanding
expertise and experience with the BGG, but also the everyday application of
the law and legal awareness should be promoted and raised We applied social scientific approaches qualitative and quantitative survey and
analysis methods Structured interviews with experts
Based on these interviews questions and hypotheses and validated by an online survey
German Federal Disability Equal Treatment Law
We included councils for disabled employees of companies and government
agencies in our surveys
Councils are an obligatory part of German industrial relations
They are elected by the severely disabled employees
According to Social Code Book IX councils for disabled employees protect,
promote and enforce the rights of disabled employees in relation to employers
and work councils
Councils have to ensure that the rights of disabled employees are
implemented and employers meet their obligations
German Federal Disability Equal Treatment Law
Results of the survey according accessibility in government agencies revealed
complaints of missing accessibility
In most cases agency buildings are basically accessible, especially for
mobility impaired persons One of the main focuses in the field of construction is the creation of accessibility
in buildings used by the federal government and its agencies
In most cases persons with disabilities complain about missing accessibility in
communication and information technology
Difficulties to create accessible government agencies are often caused by
restricted financial resources and by unclear responsibilities
There might be a lack of awareness in government and public agencies for the
fact that disabled people require more support by government agencies
German Federal Disability Equal Treatment Law
Councils for disabled employees takes significant responsibility for the
implementation of the BGG and accessibility in public agencies
The council is legally (only) responsible for promoting the interests of disabled
employees, not those of disabled citizens and agency clients
BGG is valued by the councils for disabled employees significantly more often
with "very important" for own activity than from other interviewees
Representatives of the councils have better knowledge about the BGG and
accessibility than other respondents in the surveyed agencies
Representatives are more often participating in training They also feel the need to train up themselves
The survey revealed as well that the councils for disabled employees play a
significant role in the implementation of accessibility in public agencies
German Federal Disability Equal Treatment Law
In most cases government agencies incorporate councils for disabled
employees in the planning process of accessibility projects
Representatives of the councils face a dilemma: On the one hand they want to
address problems, on the other hand they are afraid being blamed for
drawbacks, especially because they don`t control resources and decisions
made up by the agency management
Legal analysis revealed inferences between obligations of employers for
disabled people and people or clients with disabilities Actually, there are no legal connections but it seems reasonable to produce a
suitable linking
Facing restricted resources, it is very difficult for councils to deal with all issues
of accessibility und to satisfy all expectations
German Federal Disability Equal Treatment Law
We recommend to widen the functions for the councils for disabled employees
to fulfill obligations from the BGG in regard of disabled employees
They should get an official mandate to participate in the process of making
agencies and enterprises open to the public accessible
They should be mandated to work together with disabled persons’
organizations representing the interests of disabled citizens, users and
customers
In the latest BGG reform a government agency for accessibility has been
established
Action is needed to define specific functions of councils for disabled
employees in regard to the BGG and accessibility strategies and to a more
appropriate provision of resources
