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Employers who include employees with disabilities in
their workforce enjoy win-win situations. Employers get employees who are as
productive as any other employees, with good attendance records and loyalty to
the job and the company. Employees with disabilities gain self-esteem and a
paycheck that can lift them out of poverty.
The Department of Labor's Office of Disability
Employment Policy (ODEP) has identified six elements that contribute to
creating a win-win situation:
- Company Commitment: The employer's commitment to hire
and accommodate people with disabilities must come from the top (the President,
CEO or owner) and be communicated clearly and often to all levels of the
organization. Supervisors and managers who know they have the support of the
boss can confidently include people with disabilities in their workforce.
- Broad-based Recruitment: Employers must recruit people
with disabilities for all positions, including management. The employer should
send vacancy announcements to disability-related organizations and agencies,
and should state that the employer encourages people with disabilities to
apply.
- Interviewing and Hiring: Interviewers and hiring
officials should be trained to comply with federal and state disability
nondiscrimination laws. During the hiring process employers should clearly
identify the essential functions of all positions and use them as the criteria
for making hiring decisions. Candidates with known disabilities must be
evaluated on the skills, training and abilities they present, including their
ability to perform the essential functions of the job with reasonable
accommodation. Employers should be prepared to provide reasonable
accommodations for the hiring process to applicants with disabilities, when
needed.
- Willingness to Make Accommodations: Proper workplace
accommodations enable an employee with a disability to perform the duties of
the job fully and competently. Finding effective accommodations is a process,
and many resources exist to assist employers with this process, including the
employee with a disability.
- Access to Training: It is important that all training
programs and materials, including those that prepare employees for advancement,
be available and accessible to employees with disabilities.
- Awareness and sensitivity: Because negative or
paternalistic attitudes toward people with disabilities are sometimes present
in the workplace, it is important that employees, supervisors and managers
receive information and guidance on the myths and stereotypes about people with
disabilities. Accurate information about the facts and realities for people
with disabilities can help create a positive atmosphere in which the employee
with a disability can demonstrate his or her abilities.
Employers who include these six elements in their
personnel program improve their chances for creating win-win situations. Below,
in their own words, are examples of actual win-win situations
Eagle Communications, Inc., Fort Dodge, IA
Eugene "Gene" Van Grevenhof owns Eagle
Communications, Inc., which remanufactures used cartridges for laser and inkjet
printers. The company employs six workers (five with disabilities) and serves
clients in about a dozen states.
Head technician Douglas Ray Klass has a back injury.
The business had to make only a few accommodations for Douglas, such as raising
his work bench up on blocks and having co-workers help with heavy
lifting.
Gene Van Grevenhof, owner: "Douglas is
my head technician and right-hand man. When I am gone, he has all the authority
I do. Accommodation for him was just common sense; I haven't put any money into
it. For example, we buy workbenches manufactured at a standard height. Then we
make it a comfortable height for workers by raising the bench or cutting its
legs so they don't have to bend over while working."
Douglas Ray Klass: "I rebuild printer
cartridges. I never did anything like this before, so it was a learning
experience. I like challenges. I went around looking for work, but after
employers found out I had an injury, they said 'I'll let you know.' The
unemployment office told me about a man who had a back injury himself who was
hiring people with back injuries. So I checked into it."
Defense Contract Management Agency, Department of Defense,
Boston, MA
Molly Reece, who has cognitive disabilities resulting
from Down Syndrome, has worked for 10 years for the Legal Office of the
District East Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA). She has received two
promotions.
Molly has the responsibility for ensuring that
thousands of legal papers are copied, ready for trial, faxed and filed
correctly. She logs and organizes documents, including financial vouchers and
uses many computer software programs. Molly takes slightly longer to train and
supervise, but otherwise needs very little extra assistance.
Bruce Krasker, Chief Counsel: "If you
want to know how much I trust Molly, she does all of my travel vouchers and
it's my money. She copies complicated documents and returns them to us tabbed
correctly without holes in important words. She takes terrific pride in her
work. We're a legal office, and accuracy is critical to us. A missing paper
could cost us a trial."
Molly Reece: "I like my work very
much. People give me their work, tell me what to do and then I do it for them.
I do the TDY's (travel vouchers) and put them in the computer. I do the PCS
(permanent change of station). I have to log them in and get them ready for
mailing. I get the form signed, and then they get their money. I had no
computer skills when I came. Now I use the computer all the time."
McCrone, Inc., Centerville, MD
McCrone, Inc. is a civil engineering firm
specializing in land surveying, development and planning for commercial and
residential sites. The firm has more than 100 employees and does most of its
work in Maryland.
The company became interested in Computer Aided
Design (CAD) in the late 80's, but was having difficulty finding qualified
people. McCrone discovered that the Maryland Department of Rehabilitation
Services (DRS) had a CAD training program. The company interviewed and hired
Jeff Moore, who had become a CAD trainee as part of his rehabilitation after an
automobile accident. Jeff, who is paralyzed below his breastbone, does survey
drafting for McCrone.
Michael Whitehill, Vice President and Branch
Manager: "Jeff is sought out by project managers because of his
productivity and high level of accuracy. He is the person responsible for
coordinating the civil engineering drawings (plats). He has an incredible drive
for success.
"It's completely naive to assume that the importance
of accommodations is only for people with disabilities. In 1990, we built a new
building for our company and found that the access accommodations made the
building more livable for everyone.
"We were able to establish a remote telecommute with
Jeff in the early 90's because it is not necessary for him to come to the
office to do his work. As a result of our experience with Jeff, we ramped up
our sophistication in telecommuting for many other employees as well."
Jeffrey Moore, Engineering Technician:
"I like what I do. Mostly, I like the people. I never really asked for
accommodations; they sort of came my way. For instance, I sat in on the design
meetings when we designed our new building.
"I decided to get a computer at home so I could
continue working after leaving the office. There is nothing that I can't do at
home that I can do at the office. And some of my co-workers live close enough
to me that they can bring things back and forth from the office, which works
out really nice."
For additional information
Job Accommodation Network (JAN)
JAN, a
federally financially assisted service of ODEP, is a toll-free resource
regarding questions about job accommodations, or about the employment sections
of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
800-526-7236
(V/TTY)
jan@jan.icdi.wvu.edu (E-mail)
Employment Assistance Referral Network (EARN)
EARN, a contracted service of ODEP, is a national toll-free telephone and
electronic information referral service for employers who are seeking to hire
workers with disabilities.
866-EarnNow (866-327-6669) (V)
www.earnworks.com
(Internet)
This publication is available in alternate
formats.
July 2001 |
