WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland is committed to the full integration of blind people into society, including equal access to employment based on ability rather than misconception or stereotype; and
WHEREAS, blind and low-vision individuals are generally unable to obtain driver’s licenses and instead routinely and successfully use a wide variety of alternative transportation options, including public transportation, rideshare services, paratransit, walking, and other lawful means of travel; and
WHEREAS, many employers, including units of state and local government, continue to require possession of a valid driver’s license for positions that do not involve driving as an essential function of the job; and
WHEREAS, even in cases where travel is deemed an essential function of the job, the employee does not necessarily need to drive their own vehicle in order to travel, and the state can instead hire or contract with a driver or reimburse for other modes of transportation mentioned above as needed; and
WHEREAS, requiring a driver’s license for jobs that do not involve driving operates as an arbitrary and unnecessary screening device that disproportionately and unlawfully excludes qualified blind applicants; and
WHEREAS, many employers, including units of state and local government including the Maryland Department of Transportation, the City of Baltimore, and numerous state and local entities ask job applicants to provide a valid driver’s license number for all positions they advertise by default even though the majority of vacancies do not have a travel requirement as part of the essential functions of the position; and
WHEREAS, requesting driver’s license information on all job applications by default may result in employers screening out qualified blind and low vision applicants and may cause blind and low vision candidates not to apply due to the mistaken belief that such positions require driving as an essential function of the job; and
WHEREAS, such requirements violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Maryland law, all of which prohibit employment discrimination and require that qualification standards do not screen out or exclude people with disabilities and that job requirements be consistent with business necessity; and
WHEREAS, the continued use of non-job-related driver’s license requirements by state, county, and municipal agencies undermines Maryland’s stated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and equal opportunity in public employment: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland in Convention assembled this fifteenth day of February, 2026, in the city of Ocean City, Maryland, that this organization demand that all Maryland state, county, and municipal agencies and instrumentalities immediately cease requiring possession of a driver’s license for any job in which driving, as opposed to travel, is not an essential function; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland demand that state, county, and municipal agencies and governments review and revise job applications, classifications, postings, and qualification standards to ensure that driver’s license requirements are included only where actual operation of a motor vehicle by the applicant or employee is an essential duty of the position; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we call upon appropriate state officials and enforcement bodies, including the Office of the Maryland Attorney General and the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights, to take proactive steps to investigate, deter, and remedy discrimination based on driver’s license requirements that unlawfully exclude qualified blind and low vision job applicants; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we urge these enforcement agencies to issue guidance, pursue compliance reviews, and take enforcement action where necessary to ensure that Maryland government employers at all levels adhere to nondiscrimination laws and principles.