Kansas Department of Human ResourcesStaff Services, by William Sanders - Chief of Labor Market Information Services (LMIS) Bill Layes and I met with representatives of the Department of Commerce and Housing (KDOCH) New Business Development Division to discuss how LMIS data can be used to help attract businesses to Kansas. Within the next few weeks, KDOCH representatives will put together a wish list of data that they hope KDHR can package for them. We will then assess our capabilities and suggest alternatives as necessary.
The Y2K compliance auditors for our automated benefits and contributions systems, Computer Technology Associates (CTA), have completed their Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) audit. CTA has given "signature approval" to our remediation efforts, stating, "After completing the IV&V process, CTA concurs with the statement that the KDHR unemployment insurance automated benefit and tax systems have a high degree of likelihood that they are year 2000 compliant." CTA completed the audit without making a single Corrective Action Request.
Workers Compensation, by Phil Harness - Ombudsman Matt Bradberry recently received a complimentary letter from a satisfied customer. The Ombudsman Section takes pride in providing impartial assistance to any party contacting the division and the program is nationally recognized for its success.
OSHA forwarded the Draft Annual Evaluation for the 21(d) Consultation program to the department. This evaluation period resulted in 469 consultations which identified 4,412 hazards. Of these, 3,383 were ranked as serious hazards and were abated. These results are spectacular.
Employment & Training, by Heather Whitley - The Division of Employment and Training recently received 10 fidelity bonds from the U.S. Department of Labor through the Federal Bonding Program (FBP). This program provides individual fidelity bonds to employers for job applicants who are or may be denied coverage by commercial carriers. Beyond assisting ex-offenders, the FBP also assists those with a history of alcohol or drug abuse, poor credit history, lack of employment history or dishonorable discharge from the military. Essentially, these fidelity bonds are a guarantee of employee job honesty. For additional details regarding this innovative program, contact Joyce Heiman in the E & T Administrative Office.
Service Delivery Area (SDA) I, by Sheryl Krug - Carolyn Elmore, Vocational Evaluator / Counselor, with Kansas Rehabilitation Services (KRS) moved into the Hays Job Service Career Center (JSCC) office on June 1. Gina Riedel, Hays JSCC manager, and Nancy Guthrie, SDA I One-Stop project leader, coordinated with Don Moore, KRS regional director, to ensure a successful co-location.
Regina Dolan has been named as the new Liberal JSCC program specialist II. Dolan was previously employed by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation in Liberal. Dolan will work with Job Training Partnership Act and Welfare-to-Work clients, from enrollment through program follow-up.
Service Delivery Area (SDA) II, by Mike O'Hara - The following SDA II employees recently received honors:
Service Delivery Area (SDA) III, by Al Rolls - On June 6, Secretary Beyer, Roger Aeschliman, Stacey Herman, and I attended a presentation of the Older Kansan Employment Program's (OKEP) Senior Mentoring Program at the Overland Park Job Service Career Center. SDA III has contracted with OKEP to provide mentoring services to Welfare-to-Work clients. After the presentation, the group toured the GE Capital Service Center facilities to learn more about how the mentoring program works with employers.
Service Delivery Area (SDA) IV, by Vicki Romig - Wichita staff participated in the Urban League's Business and Community Affairs Career Fair and Luncheon on June 25. Lieutenant Governor Gary Sherrer was the featured speaker and spoke on Partnering for Change: Business, Community, and Government Working Together.
EDWAA staff are providing on-site dislocated worker services in partnership with Boeing's IAM Quality Through Training Program (QTTP) at their facility. A team including representatives from Boeing, QTTP, Wichita Area Technical College, and Wichita E&T are working to provide intensive readjustment and retraining services to workers laid off from Boeing.
Kansas African-American Advisory Commission (KAAAC), by Julius Williams - KAAAC recently submitted a grant application to the Juvenile Justice Authority for Title II funding for the Amer-I-Can program. If successful, the grant will provide funding to a school in Kansas City, Topeka, and Wichita to implement the Amer-I-Can life management skills course for students. The goal is to reduce juvenile delinquency rates in Kansas.
Commissioner Pamela Johnson-Betts presented at a national Leadership Summit for State Minority Health and State Women's Health Representatives held in Washington, DC on July 12-14, 1999.
The commission is pleased to announce the Kansas African-American Economic and Human Development Expo will be held November 12-13, 1999 at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. This year the commission is adding an African-American Leadership Summit. The goal of the summit is to network with leaders across the state to create a statewide forum for African-Americans.
The commission regrets to announce that Jamaine Abidogun will step down from her position as education program consultant this August. She has accepted a lecturer position with Washburn University.
If you would like to be added to the mailing list for the KAAAC quarterly newsletter, The African-American Standard, call 296-4874, or fax 296-1795.
Kansas Advisory Committee on Hispanic Affairs (KACHA), by Tina De La Rosa - KACHA has been successful in assisting two school districts in Salina and Wichita to receive grassroots grant money to sponsor art shows, Arte Nuestro (Our Art), by English as a second language (ESL) students. These students were encouraged to share their artistic talents by submitting artwork that was proudly displayed in two art galleries. Parents, teachers, and community leaders were invited to attend a reception that was held in honor of all participants. Both events were a success and KACHA has been asked by the Kansas Arts Commission to assist other school districts in the state with similar events. This has been a very rewarding project in which we have been able to allow students,to share a bit of Hispanic culture with everyone through their art.
Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns (KCDC), by Martha Gabehart - Three of the four recent Supreme Court decisions concerning the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) affect the protection afforded to people with disabilities, because of a new interpretation of the definition of "disability." The three cases: Sutton v. United Airlines, Murphy v. United Parcel Service, and Kirkenburg v. Albertson's, all concerned determining whether the plaintiffs were disabled according to the definition used in the law. The definition in the ADA states that a disability is a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded having such an impairment.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the US Department of Justice state in their regulations for implementing the ADA that "mitigating measures" were NOT to be taken into consideration when determining if a person has a disability. Mitigating measures are things that are used to compensate for the limitation of the disability. Examples are glasses and medication. The Supreme Court decided that mitigating measures must be included in the determination of whether a person is substantially limited in a major life activity. That means if a person has low vision (the Sutton case) and uses glasses to correct the limitation, the ADA does not protect that person. If a person has high blood pressure and uses medication to try to correct the limitation (the Murphy case), the ADA does not protect him. If a person has only one eye and his brain has learned to compensate for the limitation (the Kirkenburg case), he is not protected by the ADA.
Because the definition of disability is the same for all parts of the ADA, this will affect the interpretation of who we must accommodate as employees and customers. No official word has been received by KCDC from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the US Department of Justice on whether they will follow the Supreme Court's interpretation. We will continue to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities. We will also continue to provide written documents in alternate formats, personal assistance, and sign language interpreters for hearing and speech impaired customers who require these services to utilize this agency's services. lf you have any questions or would like to talk more about this issue, please call me or Randy Fisher at 785-296-1722 (voice) or 785-296-5044 (TTY).
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