Hiring a person with a disability

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Hiring a person with a disability

• Myths
• Realities
• Opportunities

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Hiring a person with a disability

• 22.8 Million working age Americans have a
  disability
• 12.8 Million had a disability that interfered
  with employment
• 2 out of 7 families have at least one member with
  a disability
• U.S. Census Bureau

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Hiring a person with a disability

• In West Central Texas, 21.7 of working age
  adults are disabled.
• Thats 34,903 Texans.
• Statewide 19.9 of Texans are disabled.
• Only half of these are currently employed
• Texas Industry Profiles

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Hiring a person with a disabilityMyth
I cannot afford to hire a worker with a
disability because of the extra costs to
accommodate that worker.
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Hiring a person with a disabilityReality

• 20 of accommodations cost nothing.
• 50 cost less than 500.
• 70 of workers with a disability require no
  accommodations at all.
• Nationally the average cost of an accommodation
  is 35.
• JAN 2002 Study

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Hiring a person with a disabilityReality-Examples

• An insurance salesman with Cerebral Palsy had
  trouble taking notes while talking on the phone.
• Company purchased a headset for the phone for
  49.95

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Hiring a person with a disabilityReality-Examples

• An photographer lost the use of one hand. His
  employer provided a tripod but it was too
  cumbersome.
• Company purchase a waist pod (like flag bearers
  use in parades) at a cost of 50.

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Hiring a person with a disabilityReality-Examples

• A police officer with dyslexia spent hours
  completing forms each day.
• The department provided a tape recorder. The
  secretary typed his reports from dictation and
  the other officers from their hand written
  copies. Cost was 70.

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Hiring a person with a disabilityReality-Examples

• Company wanted to hire a file clerk in a
  wheelchair but she could not access the vertical
  files.
• Company purchased horizontal files instead for
  450.

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Hiring a person with a disabilityReality
When the cost of accommodating an employee with a
disability are excessive, the IRS provides a tax
credit of up to 15000 annually.
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Hiring a person with a disabilityMyth
Workers with disabilities are less productive
than workers that have no disabilities.
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Hiring a person with a disabilityReality
A 1990 study by DuPont found that 90 of
employees with a disability were rated by their
supervisor as Average or Better then Average.
The most commonly cited strengths were
attendance, punctuality and accepting authority.
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Hiring a person with a disabilityMyth
A disabled worker is less safe than a worker
without a disability
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Hiring a person with a disabilityReality
That same DuPont study also reported that
disabled workers actually had fewer accidents
than other workers.
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Hiring a person with a disabilityMyth
If I hire a worker with a disability my Workers
Compensation premiums will increase.
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Hiring a person with a disabilityReality
Workers Compensation premiums are based on the
number of claims made and not the make up of your
workforce. Since workers with disabilities tend
to have fewer accidents, Workers Compensation
rates should remain unchanged.
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Hiring a person with a disabilityMyth
A worker with a disability is harder to supervise
than a non-disabled worker.
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Hiring a person with a disabilityReality
A recent Harris Pole of supervisors indicated
that 82 of managers said that supervising a
worker with a disability was no harder than
supervising any other worker.
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Hiring a person with a disabilityMyth
The disabled cant or dont want to work.
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Hiring a person with a disabilityReality
80 of Americans with a disability say they want
to work.
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Hiring a person with a disabilityMyth
If I hired a worker with a disability I could
never discipline or fire them.
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Hiring a person with a disabilityReality
Equal access to employment means equal
accountability. ADA does not alter hiring or
performance standards, only access. If an
employee has disciplinary problems or cannot
perform the essential functions of the job, you
are within your rights to follow normal
disciplinary procedures for your business.
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Hiring a person with a disabilityMyth
Co-workers and customers will be uncomfortable.
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Hiring a person with a disabilityReality

• 75 of people in America have worked with a
  person with a disability or received services
  from a person with a disability.
• 91 of those that have worked with a disabled
  coworker said that persons job performance was
  Very Good or Good.
• 98 of those served were Very Satisfied or
  Satisfied with services received.
• Center for Social Development and Education, Jan.
  31, 2006

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Hiring a person with a disabilityReality

• 92 of consumers felt more favorably toward
  companies that hired individuals with a
  disability.
• 87 prefer to do business with these companies.
• Hiring people with disabilities ranked 3rd as an
  indicator of a companys commitment to social
  justice behind protecting the environment and
  offering health insurance to all employees.
• Center for Social Development and Education, Jan.
  31, 2006

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Hiring a person with a disabilityOpportunities
Hiring individuals with disabilities is, in
fact, good for business. The return on
investment to SunTrust can be measured in several
waysIts good for our shareholders and its good
for business. CT Hill, chairman, president CEO
of SunTrust Banks Mid-Atlantic
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Hiring a person with a disabilityOpportunities
Hiring a worker with a disability improves
diversity.
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Hiring a person with a disabilityOpportunities
The real issues of diversity in the world of
business have more to do with the intellectual
and perceptual diversity which is the very
competitive advantage that companies must have in
order to compete. Creativity and innovation must
now occur as a part of the normal functioning of
the enterprise, and homogeneous environments and
social groups rarely produce new thinking. Dr.
Michael Boyd, Human Resourcing Strategies Program
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Hiring a person with a disabilityOpportunities
Hiring individuals with disabilities is good for
the public image of a company.
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Hiring a person with a disabilityOpportunities
In the global market, it is not enough for
companies to have a product that represents
quality and value. The companies reputation
has become increasingly important. Consumers,
more than ever, want .. the companies they do
business with to be socially responsible. A
national survey of consumer attitudes toward
companies that hire people with disabilities in
Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation (January,
2006)
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Hiring a person with a disabilityOpportunities
West Central Texas is facing an increasingly
tight labor market. Jobseekers with disabilities
are an underutilized source of workers that
employers simply cannot afford to ignore.
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Hiring a person with a disabilityOpportunities
September Unemployment

• The area has seen a steady decline of
  unemployment
• West Central Texas has a lower unemployment rate
  than the rest of the state

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Hiring a person with a disabilityOpportunities
Marriott Hotels recently reported that the turn
over rate among their employees with a disability
was 6. Among other employees the turn over rate
was 52.
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Hiring a person with a disabilityOpportunities
97 of employers who had hired someone with a
disability would do it again! A national survey
of consumer attitudes toward companies that hire
people with disabilities in Journal of
Vocational Rehabilitation (January, 2006)
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Hiring a person with a disability
Far and away the best prize that life offers is
the chance to work hard at work worth doing.
Theodore Roosevelt Speech in New York, September
7, 1903