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Cover image for Nicholas Saleh's testimonial, picturing some contractors - relevant to Saleh's research topic.

Nicholas Saleh MILR '19

Student Researcher at the Institute for Compensation Studies

Interest: Role of Regulations on the Disability Employment Gap

Research Questions: 

Examine the empirical scholarship measuring the effect of antidiscrimination regulation and policy on the employment outcomes of the protected class;
Examine the legal scholarship regarding the 2014 amendments to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 

Project Summary:  

I had the privilege of working with Assistant Executive Director Enayati on an ongoing project titled The Initial Impact of Section 503 Rules: Understanding Good Employer Practices and the Trends in Disability Violations Among Federal Contractors.  

The project is the first analysis of the impact of the 2014 amendments of Section 503. The project objectives are: to identify the characteristics of federal contractors with and without evidence of disability violations under equal employment opportunity law; to examine the initial impact of the amended regulations on contractors with violations; and to build an understanding of effective contractor practice and policy.

Student Role: 

In furtherance of the project objectives, I conducted: a traditional literature review of empirical and legal scholarship measuring the effect of antidiscrimination policy and regulations on the employment outcomes of the protected class; drafted an annotated bibliography of the pertinent scholarship; and drafted a synthesis of the empirical and legal scholarship. 

Key Takeaways:

Antidiscrimination law and regulations generally improve the employment outcomes of the protected class. Yet, nearly 30 years after the ADA became law, the labor market for individuals with disabilities remains bleak. 

The empirical scholarship generally identifies the ADA itself, and particularly the statute’s reasonable accommodation mandate, as the primary source of the continuing disparities in employment outcomes. This line of scholarship concludes that the ADA inadvertently introduced significant disincentives to the labor economics associated with employing individuals with disabilities. 
Affirmative action and anti-discrimination provisions have existed in U.S. federal contracting regulations for approximately 50 years. However, there has been little scholarship regarding the impact of the regulations. In 2014 the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs amended the regulations, specifically bolstering the affirmative action obligations of federal contractors. 

The federal contracting market employs approximately 20% of the total U.S. workforce, more than 33 million individuals. Given the scope of the market, the amended regulations have the potential to ameliorate a systemic problem in the U.S. labor market.

Research Questions: 

Examine the empirical scholarship measuring the effect of antidiscrimination regulation and policy on the employment outcomes of the protected class;
Examine the legal scholarship regarding the 2014 amendments to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 

Project Summary:  

I had the privilege of working with Assistant Executive Director Enayati on an ongoing project titled The Initial Impact of Section 503 Rules: Understanding Good Employer Practices and the Trends in Disability Violations Among Federal Contractors.  

The project is the first analysis of the impact of the 2014 amendments of Section 503. The project objectives are: to identify the characteristics of federal contractors with and without evidence of disability violations under equal employment opportunity law; to examine the initial impact of the amended regulations on contractors with violations; and to build an understanding of effective contractor practice and policy.

Student Role: 

In furtherance of the project objectives, I conducted: a traditional literature review of empirical and legal scholarship measuring the effect of antidiscrimination policy and regulations on the employment outcomes of the protected class; drafted an annotated bibliography of the pertinent scholarship; and drafted a synthesis of the empirical and legal scholarship. 

Key Takeaways:

Antidiscrimination law and regulations generally improve the employment outcomes of the protected class. Yet, nearly 30 years after the ADA became law, the labor market for individuals with disabilities remains bleak. 

The empirical scholarship generally identifies the ADA itself, and particularly the statute’s reasonable accommodation mandate, as the primary source of the continuing disparities in employment outcomes. This line of scholarship concludes that the ADA inadvertently introduced significant disincentives to the labor economics associated with employing individuals with disabilities. 
Affirmative action and anti-discrimination provisions have existed in U.S. federal contracting regulations for approximately 50 years. However, there has been little scholarship regarding the impact of the regulations. In 2014 the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs amended the regulations, specifically bolstering the affirmative action obligations of federal contractors. 

The federal contracting market employs approximately 20% of the total U.S. workforce, more than 33 million individuals. Given the scope of the market, the amended regulations have the potential to ameliorate a systemic problem in the U.S. labor market.