Use this version. Information Technology Information technology has dramatically increased the productivity of the nation s workforce, but disabled people, who might benefit most from technology, have largely been left behind, said Attorney General Janet Reno. These are people who want to work, who want so to contribute, who want to make a difference and be productive.
Most technology is designed without thinking of the disabled.
But often, adding simple features or making small changes during the design phase would make computers and software usable by disabled persons at little or no cost to the manufacturer. Two federal initiatives aim to turn the government into a model employer for people with disabilities. One is an executive order issued by President Clinton requiring government agencies to hire 100,000 disabled workers over the next five years. The other is Section 508, a law passed by Congress to compel agencies to provide disabled employees with computers, software, telephones and other information technology that enables them to work. But the government s progress toward making agencies accessible to the disabled is moving at a snail s pace.