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Laura Fortman is the commissioner of the Maine Department of Labor.
For me, employment has always been about more than having a job. It means earning a fair wage, building a career, contributing to a community, supporting yourself and your family, and having the economic independence meaningful work can provide.
That is why Gov. Janet Mills’ proclamation of October as Disability Employment Awareness Month feels particularly meaningful. The proclamation recognizes the skills, talents and contributions of Mainers with disabilities and calls on employers, schools, higher education institutions and community organizations to expand access to good jobs and career pathways.
It is an opportunity to celebrate Maine’s progress, recognize those who made it possible and recommit us to the work that remains.
My own connection to this issue goes back more than 50 years. In the summer of 1972, after watching Geraldo Rivera’s exposé of the conditions at Willowbrook State School, I volunteered there for several weeks. I was young, and what I saw was difficult to absorb: young people with intellectual disabilities living in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions.
What stayed with me most was the young people, their warmth, resilience and potential.
That experience shaped my career and life’s work to expand opportunities for people that have faced barriers and whose voices have too often gone unheard. I believe that public policy works best when it starts with the dignity and potential of the people it serves like supporting employment for people with disabilities.
Maine has made real progress in this area, thanks to the tireless work by self-advocates and the broader community. In 2013, the Maine Legislature passed the Employment First Maine Act, making employment the first and preferred option for people with disabilities, so they no longer wait until they are deemed “work ready” to begin a path toward employment.
In 2020, with the support of the Mills administration, the Legislature passed a law prohibiting Maine employers from paying workers with disabilities less than the minimum wage. The administration also expanded Progressive Employment, a model that helps people with disabilities build workplace skills while employers learn how to support them.
Employment for people with disabilities is not a social-services issue. It is a workforce issue.
Maine needs workers. Mainers with disabilities want to work, build careers and contribute, but continue to face barriers to doing so. Bringing those two realities together is good for individuals, businesses and Maine.
When someone with a disability pursues a career, individuals, families, employers, communities and Maine all benefit.
That is why disability inclusion belongs in the middle of our workforce strategy, not in the margins.
As we expand registered apprenticeships and career and technical education, people with disabilities should be able to participate fully. When we connect employers with workers, disabilities should not narrow the conversation about what they can do.
Accessibility is more than a ramp at the door. Today, people find jobs, pursue training, communicate with employers and access public services online, making digital accessibility and communication just as important as physical access. We also need to ensure people with disabilities benefit from emerging technologies, including AI, through accessible tools and the skills increasingly needed in the workplace.
That is what digital equity should mean: making sure everyone can access, understand and use technology to participate fully in work and community life.
At the Department of Labor, we have an opportunity and a responsibility to keep building on the work of those who came before us. That means continuing to strengthen vocational rehabilitation and supported employment, expand access to apprenticeships and training, address transportation and workplace-support barriers, and work with employers to ensure they can recognize and make use of the talents of people with disabilities.
There is much to celebrate this October. But National Disability Employment Awareness Month is also a reminder that progress is not a finish line.
The goal is simple: A Maine where people with disabilities have the same opportunity to pursue meaningful work, build careers and achieve their aspirations as anyone else.