Disability Law 68/99: Inclusion and Rights to Work

Legge 68/1999 is an Italian law that helps people with disabilities to find a job and to have equal working conditions as everyone. This law states:

• People with disabilities have the right to work.
• The State and employers must help them find suitable work.
• The work must also respect the abilities and needs of the individual. 

Attention! Disability and disabilities are not the same thing:

• Disability indicates a reduced capacity to work as a result of health problems.
• Having disabilities according to Legge 104/92 is a legal recognition that entitles you to tax benefits and employment incentives. 

In Practice, these are two different statuses which offer different advantages.

What Does Law 68/1999 Say?

This law establishes that employers and public organizations must hire a certain number of workers with disabilities, based on the size of their organization. The idea behind the law is simple: Work is a fundamental right and everyone should have the opportunity to participate in working life. 

Law 68/99 serves not only to create jobs, but also to promote job placements that are suited to an individual’s abilities. Meaning to try and find the job best suited to the skills, conditions, and possibilities of each worker. 

For this reason the law mentions the: “collocamento mirato”.

The collocamento mirato: what it means? 

The collocamento mirato is a system that helps people with disabilities find work suited to their capacities. 

Not only is it about the assignment of job positions, but it evaluates different aspects of the person, such as:

• Skills;
• Work Experience;
• Education Levels;
• Type of disability; 
• The capabilities and difficulties of the work.

this evaluation is conducted by employment services, particularly the Employment Centers or “Centri per l’Impiego”, using specialized operators. In some cases, medical and technical commissions also participate in analyzing the person’s situation from a health and employment perspective.

Thanks to this evaluation, employment services try to put the person in contact with companies that have compatible job positions.

This system serves to prevent individuals from being placed in jobs they cannot perform or that could pose difficulties. The objective is to promote stable and sustainable placement over time.

Who can benefit from Law 68/99?

Law 68/99 concerns several groups of people who have difficulty accessing the job market/workplace. 

Among these are:

• People with physical, mental, or sensory disabilities: People who may have difficulties with movement, mental health, vision, or hearing.
• People with civil disability greater than 45%: People who have been recognized by a medical commission as having a significant reduction in their working capacity 
• People with work-related disability greater than 33%: Workers who have had an injury or occupational disease related to their work.
• People who are blind or deaf: people with severe visual or healing impairments. 
• People with war or service related disabilities: People who have sustained a disability during military activities or while performing service for the State.

Law 68/99 also protects other protected categories, provided in Article 18 of the same law. These are people who, due to particular life circumstances, may have greater difficulty accessing employment. These include: 

• Orfani [orphans] and surviving spouses of people who are deceased or seriously disabled as a result of work, war, service, terrorism, organized crime, duty, or domestic crimes. 
• Profughi italiani rimpatriati [Repatriated Italian Refugees], or people of Italian origin who have returned to the country after living in difficult situations abroad.
• Testimoni di giustizia [witnesses of justice], people who have collaborated with justice and who, for this reason, may require protection.
• Care leavers, or, young people who grew up in communities or in foster care and who, as adults, leave the care system. 
• Vittime [Victims] and surviving family members of damaging events  resulting from collapses of road or motorway infrastructure. 
• Other categories identified by law, which may be added over time based on social needs and decisions by the legislator. 

People who fall into these categories can register on the collocamento mirato [targeted employment] list to receive support in finding a job suited to their skills.

Registration is important because it allows you to participate in the reserved job opportunities provided by law. 

How do I register for the collocamento mirato?

To benefit from Law 68/99 it is necessary to register for targeted placement at your local Centro per l’Impiego [Employment Center]. 

To register, you must: 

• Have official recognition of belonging to a protected category;
• Be of working age;
• Be unemployed or looking for work.

Documents certifying membership in protected categories may vary, depending on the individual’s situation. For example:

• Civilian disabled persons: must present a civil disability certificate issued by INPS;
• Work-related disabled persons: must present a disability certificate issued by INAIL, certifying the injury or occupational disease;
• Civilians disabled by war or service: must present a certificate issued by their command or administration;
• War-related disabled persons: must provide a document issued by the military medical commission or the Prefecture;
• Orphans and surviving spouses of victims of terrorism, organized crime, or duty: must present a certificate issued by the Ministry of the Interior or the designated Prefecture. 

Once all the necessary documents have been gathered, those who meet the requirements can go to their local Centro per l’impiego to register on the protected category lists.

In addition to the certificate proving membership in a protected category, registration will also require:

• Codice fiscale [Italian Tax Code]
• Documento di identità [Identity Document]
• Permesso di soggiorno [Residency Permit] (for non-EU Citizens)

During registration, an interview is conducted to better understand the candidate, their skills, and the type of work they can perform.

This information is used to facilitate the matching of job supply and demand.

How hiring works

The hiring of a person with targeted placement can happen in several ways. 

For example:

• Through a numeric call, when the Centro per l’Impiego recommends a candidate to the company;
• Through a named call, when the company directly selects a candidate from the lists;
• Through internships of job placement programs.

In some cases, workplace adaptations, specific tools, or supports may also be required to facilitate the performance of work activities. 

Why Law 68/99 is Important

Law 68/99 is important because it promotes the social and job inclusion of people with disabilities.

Work is not just a source of income. It is also a fundamental tool for:

• Participating in social life
• Developing skills, including linguistically;
• Building autonomy and independence;
• Feel part of the community.

Thanks to this law, many people have the opportunity to access job opportunities that would otherwise be more difficult to obtain. 

Get informed and ask for support

If you think you are eligible for the opportunities provided by Law 68/99, it is important to get informed and ask for support. 

You can contact:

• The Centro per l’Impiego;
• A patronato [bureaucratic help centers];
• A sindicato [union];
• Associations handling disabilities and workplace inclusion.

Knowing your rights is the first step to accessing available opportunities and building a more stable and dignified career path.

Contributions were made by ItaliaHello with the help and support of the Cooperativa Social Barberi Onlus