Attorney General Eric Holder called an August Washington Times editorial on the Justice Department’s hiring policies towards people with disabiliites “ill-informed, offensive and a stark reminder that persistent prejudices and stereotypes remain too prevalent in our society and must not go unchecked,” in a letter to the editor this week.
“As with all Justice Department hiring decisions, the most qualified candidate will be selected. What was notably absent from your editorial was the requirement that in order to be selected, the disabled candidates must demonstrate that they are qualified for the jobs,” Holder wrote.
“Your suggestion that this important authority, given to all federal agencies by Congress, is being used at the department to hire only attorneys and then only those with what once was referred to as ‘mental retardation’ or those who are ‘teetering on the edge of sanity’ is not only inaccurate, it is truly shameful,” he continued. “It demonstrates the kind of unjustified attitudes that have resulted in the unacceptably high unemployment rate for people with disabilities.”
