For Alicia Deal, disability advocacy is personal. Deaf and hard of hearing since childhood, Deal later learned she has ADHD and is autistic. She says she has fought for workplace accommodations such as caption phones, part-time remote work and quiet, low-lit workspaces.

Her experience reflects broader employment challenges. After taking time off to recover from an illness nearly three years ago, Deal says she has been unable to find work despite holding advanced degrees.

A new Department of Labor rule eliminates disability hiring targets for federal contractors, rolling back guidelines intended to encourage hiring people with disabilities. Contractors are no longer encouraged to meet a 7% workforce benchmark or required to track disability demographic data.

Deal says the benchmarks were a lifeline for financial independence. She and other advocates worry that removing targets and tracking could lead employers to deprioritize disability hiring. Federal officials say core protections against workplace discrimination remain in place and characterize the change as eliminating an unlawful quota.

What the Federal Rule Changes

The Labor Department says dropping mandatory self-identification forms resolves legal concerns: Asking applicants about disabilities before a job offer, officials argue, conflicted with federal civil rights law under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Disability advocates dispute that interpretation.

Federal officials say the government will continue investigating complaints and providing tools and resources to employers. The department also contends the rule cuts red tape and saves federal contractors more than $80 million a year.

Without required targets and data tracking, however, contractors may scale back programs, said Sriram Narayanan, a professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University. Other advocates say that without measurement, it will be harder to see where hiring systems are falling short.

More than 35 million people in the U.S. labor force identify as disabled, according to federal statistics. Historically, unemployment rates for disabled adults have remained about twice as high as those for nondisabled adults. Return-to-office mandates have also reversed some of the remote-work accommodations that expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

How the 7% Benchmark Began

Federal contractors, which employ about one in five American workers, have faced equal-opportunity requirements in hiring, training and promotion since the 1960s. Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 required contractors to take affirmative steps to recruit, hire, promote and retain qualified people with disabilities, but it did not set a workforce target.

In 2013, the Labor Department established an aspirational goal for workers with disabilities to make up 7% of each federal contractor’s workforce. Employers that fell short were expected to outline plans to reach the target. The policy also encouraged voluntary self-disclosure, giving employers more information about disability representation in their workforces.

Advocates say the benchmark helped prompt employers to identify barriers and develop recruiting and accommodation programs. Researchers note that disability employment rates rose modestly after 2014, but say it is difficult to isolate the rule’s impact from other factors.

There is evidence that targeted recruiting, structured mentorship and formal accommodation programs can improve hiring and retention, said Douglas Kruse, co-director of Rutgers University’s Program for Disability Research. Other researchers say federal requirements can raise awareness and accountability even when a target is not a rigid quota.

What Workers and Employers May See Next

Deal warns that removing targets could ripple beyond federal contractors, leaving disabled job seekers more exposed to discrimination. Federal officials maintain that anti-discrimination protections continue, while advocates say the loss of data could make it more difficult to identify problems and measure progress.

Some employers may continue disability hiring initiatives, and research cited by USA TODAY found that deliberate recruiting, mentorship and accommodation policies can help. But the new rule means contractors no longer have the same 7% benchmark or requirement to track disability demographics.

Deal says hiring and providing accommodations are not special treatment. For disabled job seekers, she says, the biggest barrier can be getting through the door in the first place.