The governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, held a press conference recently as a way of drawing some serious attention to the Employment First policy. This policy will require the government of the state to basically take away those barriers that would prevent people with disabilities from finding employment with different companies and businesses. New Jersey is one of the several states, one out of fourteen, to take on this policy, allowing people with different kinds of disabilities to still be able to find necessary employment, without dealing with discrimination because of their disability, whether it is mental, physical, or even emotional.

This Employment First policy also asks that private sector employers work on the way it hires individuals and still hire people regardless of whether they have disabilities or not. Out of the 69 percent of people between the ages of 16 and 65 that have a job and are currently employed, only about 20 percent of those people in the workforce have disabilities. Christie believes it is important to change the approach on hiring people so that disabled individuals have their fair share of employment as well. He feels it should not be based on preference. Christie believes that the disabled individuals have the right and opportunity to use their talents as an employee in a specific position, regardless of their disability. He believes that have the right to receive consideration for the position in which they are applying for and that employers should not make decisions to not hire these individuals simply because of a disability that is out of their own control.

With the new mindset for hiring disabled individuals, there are many things that will change. For example, when a person with a disability goes to the government programs for assistance, they will often provide job training and skills training. However, they often do not push employment so then the disabled individuals are still left without employment. With this new mindset, there will be a big push for employers to actually hire these individuals because even with a disability, they are still able to get the job done that they are applying for, especially if they have had the necessary training for the job they applied for.

It is also important for employers to realize that everyone has the right to work, even if they are disabled. If they want to work and have the skills and training, they should be allowed to do so. It is important for disabled individuals to receive the support and services that they need, especially when it comes to job training so that they will be prepared for the positions that they are applying for.