March is Women’s History Month. Thanks to many strong-minded women, the current generations of women have many rights that we would not have had if it hadn’t been for them. We owe them a debt of gratitude.

As I’m sure you all know, February is Black History Month. Many celebrations are usually held during the month. This year, the events will be primarily virtual. I used to love going to the event that the Intergovernmental Black History Committee used to hold for Federal, state and local governmental agencies. The general public could attend, but government employees were the primary participants. The committee provided a day of workshops as well as a keynote speaker at the luncheon.

When I began thinking about writing my blog article this month, I started thinking about all of the changes that last year brought, as well as the changes that will be coming this year. Last year, due to the pandemic, we had to make many changes to the way we all live our lives. We were told we needed to pivot and adapt. We realized that most of us were more adept at making changes to our lives than we thought.

With the holidays fast approaching, employers may begin to receive requests for time off due to religious holidays. Each request should be considered and not just dismissed. Supervisors should be made aware that these requests should be forwarded to the HR department for consideration if there is a question about whether they may be accommodated.

I was thinking of writing an article this month about gratitude and it occurred to me that I should write about being grateful to the many men and women who have been in the armed forces and served our country. Many of them have lost their lives. They made the ultimate sacrifice.

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Last week, Janet Dhillon, Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), issued a message about national disability employment awareness month. In her message, she details the illustrious career of Itzhak Perlman. He was such an accomplished musician that many people just did not give a thought to his disability. Mr. Perlman had polio and had to use leg braces, crutches and, in his later life, scooters. Although disabled, Mr. Perlman contributed so much to the musical world.

If your company has done any hiring since the pandemic began, I’m sure the process has looked different than it did in the past. Prior to COVID, many companies did in-person interviews with candidates before offering positions to them. With our “new normal”, in-person interviews may be conducted using the internet and a platform such as Zoom. However, some employers may have decided to move away from the concept of having to “see” an applicant altogether.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed on July 26, 1990. It was years in the making. The Rehabilitation Act was enacted in 1973 giving Federal employees protection from discrimination due to disability, but there was no private sector equivalent. That changed in 1990. The statute did not go into effect until 1992 to give private sector employees to prepare. Even then, the number of employees required for coverage was 25 at the onset and then was decreased until it finally reached its current threshold of 15 employees. In the beginning, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) spent most of its investigative efforts trying to prove that someone was a qualified individual with a disability. EEOC very rarely reached the point of being able to discuss reasonable accommodation.

How employers treat their employees when making decisions about them