October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM).

This episode of the Georgia Tech Research Podcast focuses on the 50th anniversary of Section 504, the federal law which morphed into the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The host of this episode, J. Denise Johnson Marshall, ADA Compliance Coordinator at Georgia Institute of Technology, calls this episode “a very special podcast for us at Georgia Tech.”

The special guest is Richard Scotch, a professor of sociology, public policy and political economy at the University of Texas at Dallas. Dr. Scotch has been doing research on disability issues since he was a graduate student back in the 1970s, and has written and spoken extensively on Section 504 and the ADA, legislation which he has termed “a beacon of hope.”

Observed each October, National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) celebrates the contributions of America’s workers with disabilities showcasing supportive employment policies and practices that benefit employers and employees. The national governing body, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), has chosen "Advancing Access and Equity" as the theme for NDEAM 2023.