WHEREAS, the opportunity to work is both a right and a basic human need; and
WHEREAS, seventy percent of the blind who are able to work are unemployed because of discrimination caused by the myths and misconceptions about blindness; and
WHEREAS, the Maryland State Department of Personnel is responsible for filling many job vacancies and can increase employment opportunities for blind Marylanders; and
WHEREAS, although the proposal to create a medical advisory board to determine whether handicapped applicants could perform specific jobs was defeated in the 1985 Maryland General Assembly, it may be adopted through the administrative rule making process; and
WHEREAS, this scheme would be another barrier to blind people seeking employment; and
WHEREAS, the Job Opportunities for the Blind (JOB) program, operated by the National Federation of the Blind in partnership with the United States Department of Labor, is a more positive solution to the unemployment of the blind because it demonstrates capabilities by using the experiences of successfully employed blind people; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland in Convention assembled this second day of November 1985, in the City of Ocean City, Maryland, that this organization opposes the creation of regressive layers of bureaucracy such as the medical advisory board; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urges the Maryland State Department of Personnel to work with Job Opportunities for the Blind by: sending all job vacancy announcements to Job Opportunities for the Blind; conducting joint reviews of all job descriptions; and promoting discussions between state employers and Job Opportunities for the Blind to destroy the myths and misconceptions about blindness and to demonstrate the capabilities of the blind.