Getting Help Along the Way

Maybe you have a condition such as chronic fatigue syndrome or fibro-myalgia that wreaks havoc with your system if you don't get enough sleep. Your boss wants staff to minimize time out of the office and keep travel expenses down, so many of your colleagues take late evening and early morning flights.

Or perhaps you use a wheelchair and are traveling to a conference in a city that lacks public transit. Naturally, the only hotel that still has rooms at the government rate is farthest from the conference site. Your boss is new to the federal workforce and says you can't stay in the conference hotel because it exceeds the per diem rate. When you call to ask about how someone in a wheelchair might get to the conference, no one has an answer.

People with disabilities make up 7 percent of the federal workforce, according to the Office of Personnel Management, and many other workers do not have a disability per se but do have special needs that affect their travel planning. These workers face travel challenges that many of us never think about. Overcoming travel barriers is even harder when the people who can make your journey easier-your boss, travel agent or hotel staff-don't know how they can help.