MADISON, WI — June 29, 2026 — Employment Resources, Inc. (ERI), a Wisconsin nonprofit that helps people with disabilities find and keep jobs, is joining the Survival Coalition of Wisconsin Disability Organizations in raising alarm over a U.S. Department of Justice opinion arguing that states are not required to integrate people with disabilities into the community under the landmark Olmstead decision. ERI warns that without strong enforcement, states could cut the job coaching, transportation, and other supports that keep people with disabilities employed.
“When we think about employment for people with disabilities, we also need to think about the access that makes it possible. Access to a job coach, access to transportation, access to the health care that keeps someone well enough to show up to work. That access exists because people with disabilities have the right to be supported in their own communities, and that’s what this DOJ opinion could be pulling away from our community members,” said Kweku-TeAngelo Cargile Jr., Executive Director of Employment Resources, Inc.
The opinion, issued June 18 by the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel, breaks with nearly three decades of precedent. Olmstead v. L.C. held that needlessly segregating people with disabilities in institutions is discrimination under the ADA, and the decision has since been used to expand community living and integrated employment nationwide. The new opinion argues that ruling never actually required states to fund community-based services. While it doesn’t immediately change the law, advocates fear it signals that federal agencies will fail to enforce obligations that make integrated employment work.
Peggy Julian’s son Clarence spent nearly three years employed at Kwik Trip, where store staff worked closely with his ERI job coach to adjust tasks and routines as needed. “That made a world of difference, having that supportive environment for him to learn, and for them to be willing to work with him,” said Julian.
ERI is urging DOJ to reaffirm the integration mandate and protect the services it depends on.
About Employment Resources, Inc.
Employment Resources, Inc. (ERI) works directly with individuals with disabilities to help them find and maintain meaningful employment throughout Wisconsin.
