Massachusetts Disability Commission Approves Minutes, Hears Debut Report on EACE Contracting Program

BOSTON — June 3, 2026 — Massachusetts disability commission hears debut report on statewide contracting program targeting disability employment. The Massachusetts Permanent Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities met June 3 and received the first full-year update on the Empowering Abilities in Contracting and Employment program, or EACE, which became a provision on every new statewide goods-and-services contract as of July 1, 2025. Emily McGuire, the Supplier Diversity Office's EACE program coordinator, said roughly 292 disability-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses are now certified with the office, approximately 40 vendors are currently on active EACE contracts, and that number will exceed 130 by November — more than tripling the pilot-era total in a single calendar year. The program sets a 3 percent disability workforce target for statewide vendors and requires all contract-earning vendors to submit annual employment data, with a 40 percent voluntary response rate targeted for FY27 alongside the mandatory 100 percent rate. The disability employment tax credit for employers who hire people with disabilities — up to $5,000 or 30 percent of first-year wages — was also highlighted at a subcommittee session, and the commission's National Disability Employment Awareness Month celebration is set for October 7 at the State House, with a panel focused on artificial intelligence and disability.