Paul Steven Miller named Obama special assistant
February 19th, 2009
From the Seattle Times:
University of Washington law professor Paul Steven Miller, an expert in disability and employment discrimination law, has been named a special assistant to the president. He will advise the administration on political appointments, including those in the Department of Justice, the Department of Education and a host of regulatory agencies.
Miller is a former commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He has also served as the White House liaison to the disability community and as Deputy Director of the U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs.
An excerpt from an article in the Harvard Law School ‘spotlight’:
Born with achondroplasia, a genetic condition that results in dwarfism, Miller got his chance only after 45 law firms rejected him during law school, with one member of a firm telling him the reason: Their clients would think that they were running a “circus freak show.” The passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 has made such overt discrimination rarer and has changed the culture of the American workplace, Miller says.
“I think that the reality for students with disabilities, for professionals with disabilities, is dramatically different today than it was a scant 15, 18 years ago,” he said. “I think that’s attributable to the ADA, to an education process that employers have begun to journey down. . . . It has made America stronger, because it forces employers to focus more on people’s qualifications than on stereotypes about that individual’s disability.”
See also:
- Miller previously worked on transition team – UW press release
- Miller presentation at Georgia State University College of Law: “Good Intentions and Eugenics: Avoiding Genetic Genocide.” With audio.
(Seattle Times photo)
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February 19th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
I am heartened to see Mr. Miller joining Team Obama to lead us through the next difficult years. He is eminently qualified to evaluate legislation dealing with disabilities. He is one of our own. Let us rally behind him.