A new report says 80% of disabled state workers have considered quitting because of difficulties receiving accommodations. The list of grievances including extreme wait times of more than a year, denials without engaging in the process, and inappropriate and discriminatory comments by supervisors.
The union that represents state public workers looked into disability access and Americans with Disability Act, or ADA, compliance issues for about a year. The president of the Communications Workers of America local 7076, Megan Green, said they found many disabled employees are considering leaving the state because they felt, quote, “bullied and dismissed” when seeking ADA accommodations.
Union vice-president, Lindsay Hurst, said employees are often left with nowhere to turn with little to no legal support.
“Most of the employees that we advise to file with human rights choose to leave state service or remain in unhealthy or unsupportive work situations due to fear of retaliation,” she said. “And I'm very serious about this, a lot of people just go quiet, and then they leave.”
Hurst said the union is asking for an external audit, copies of written denials for accommodations with reason for the denial given, a 20-day response time to requests for accommodation, and a clear and accessible appeals process.
“We need support to ensure that state buildings are accessible for everyone,” she said.
Hurst and Green presented the report to lawmakers in the Legislative Health and Human Services Committee Wednesday evening, along with the Chair of the Union’s Disability Justice Committee, Sunny Gonzales.
The committee, established by the union in September 2024, has been evaluating discrimination by training under the Southwest ADA Law Center, and teaming up with civil rights experts at Disability Rights New Mexico, conducting interviews, focus groups and surveys of state workers with disabilities.
Also present at the presentation was Dylan Lange, director of the State Personnel Office. He pointed out that his agency follows federal law when it comes to disabilities, and that each individual state agency is responsible for its own ADA compliance, and must appoint its own ADA coordinator. He said that ties his agency's hands when providing support to disabled state employees.
“We came here to listen, to acknowledge that those stories that we heard today are hard to hear,” he said, “but we are willing to be part of these groups to have a concerted effort to ensure that we are being inclusive throughout the state.”
Hurst said the union is also calling for legislation to ensure ADA rights last into the future. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham vetoed a bill that would have done just that, saying state agencies are already ADA-compliant.
Support for this coverage comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
