On June 26, the Proyecto Visión National Technical Assistance Center on employment for Latinos with disabilities, hosted a training about recruiting, hiring and retaining employees with disabilities. More than 30 employer representatives attended the event, many of whom had never worked with or hired a person with a disability. By the end of the workshop, human resources professionals and outreach staff from large and small companies alike were eager to put their new knowledge into action at their places of work.

Forging Partnerships, Overcoming Barriers
In his welcome remarks, Matthew Sapolin, Executive Director of the New York City Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, praised Proyecto Visión for its remarkable work and advocacy of Latinos with disabilities. "The Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities and Proyecto Visión recognize that everyone stands to benefit when disabled New Yorkers are connected with employers who can maximize their potential," said Sapolin, paraphrasing from a letter written for the event by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Sapolin expressed interest in expanding the Office’s partnership with Proyecto Visión, a sentiment echoed in the Mayor’s letter, "Working together we can create new opportunities for employment, better-integrated workplaces, and a greater number of economically self-sufficient New Yorkers."

Kathy Martinez, Executive Director of the World Institute on Disability, shared background information about the population, characterizing Latinos as "the fastest growing group in the U.S. and one that has a higher incidence of disability than other communities." She also noted that, "isolation is one of the biggest obstacles for disabled Latinos who, due to shame, often don’t know about or take advantage of the services available for people with disabilities."

Martinez said the incentive for employers to hire people with disabilities is the same as with non-disabled employees: that there are many highly skilled jobseekers out there. Urging equal treatment, Martinez remarked "like any other minority group, people with disabilities have to prove themselves to the employer." She also pointed out that when people with disabilities are integrated into the workplace both the employee and the employer become role models to other disabled jobseekers and employers.

Topical Discussions Provide Practical Tips
After the keynote remarks, participants rotated through breakout roundtable discussions that addressed relevant issues for employers who hire people with disabilities. In the "Interacting with People with Disabilities in the Workplace" roundtable, facilitators Harilyn Rousso of Disabilities Unlimited Consulting Services and Margi Trapani of the Center for Independence of the Disabled began with a problem-solving exercise. They described situations that employers and supervisors might face when interacting with people with disabilities in the workplace. Each participant was then asked to suggest ways to handle each scenario.

The facilitators also used examples including specific disabilities like Deaf or hard of hearing, speech impairment, mobility limitation and psychiatric disabilities. Rousso and Trapani outlined things to do and things to avoid when interacting with employees with disabilities. For example, before someone ventures to assist a person with a disability to do something or complete a task, the non-disabled person should first ask if help or assistance is actually wanted or needed.

Rousso and Trapani also covered disclosure of disability to employers in the case of "invisible disabilities." Dyslexia and emotional disabilities are examples of non-visible disabilities. Both facilitators emphasized that it is not required for people to disclose information about their disability. However, should the need for a special accommodation arise, disclosure might be appropriate to explain the accommodation request.

The facilitators tempered general guidelines by reminding the employers that, "every person with a disability is an individual, and that you are interacting with the person, not the disability."

In the discussion on "Recruiting and Retaining Employees with Disabilities," facilitator Dawn Suvino of Visions/Services for the Blind said "Hiring people with disabilities makes good business sense. Studies consistently show people with disabilities are much less likely to leave a job once they feel that they’ve been welcomed and accommodated properly. They tend to have a high degree of loyalty to an employer. And we know that [employee] turnover is fiscally unsound for any company."

Suvino referred to the well-known "DuPont Study," in which disabled and non-disabled employees were polled and interviewed producing three significant findings: 90 percent of disabled workers were rated average or above average with regards to job performance and productivity; 86 percent of disabled workers rated average to above average with regards to attendance; and, 97 percent of disabled workers rated average to above average with regards to safety in the workplace.

Myths and misinformation
"The number one myth," Suvino stated, in regard to hiring people with disabilities, "is that it will be very expensive…that accommodations will cost a lot of money. However, studies conducted by the Job Accommodation Network found that 15 percent of accommodations cost nothing. It means you have to move furniture, or rearrange somebody’s office."

"Another common misperception," Suvino continued, "is that your insurance cost will go up if you hire people with disabilities. In many cases, because of the increased safety record, insurance costs are coming down. But there has never been any increased insurance cost related to hiring people with disabilities."

Suvino also addressed the myth that if an employer hires a disabled person that they won’t be able to get rid of them. "That’s not true. You can fire a disabled person provided you are applying the exact same standards of hiring and retention as you would to any other group," said Suvino.

Reasonable accommodation definitions and costs
In the discussion on "Workplace Accommodations-Examples of What is Reasonable," Marjorie Bissainthe of Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, and Richard Vargas of the Northeast ADA & IT Center gave a framework of appropriate and reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities in the workplace. Vargas emphasized that, "The obligation of the employer is to provide a ‘reasonable’ accommodation. Not necessarily the ‘ideal’ or ‘perfect’ option. But the one that enables the employee to do the essential functions of their job."

In an analogy Vargas said, "There is no need for the employer to provide a ‘Cadillac’ when a ‘Ford’ will do. In other words, the option that enables the person to do the essential part of their jobs is the one that matters. The employer has a business to run.  With the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Congress never intended that focus be lost."

Some examples of reasonable accommodations discussed in the group were reserved parking spaces, ramps, still chairs (instead of swivel chairs), voice-activated computer software or custom keyboards/mice, and assistive computer software programs such as JAWS, a program that reads the computer screen aloud for people with visual impairments. Bissainthe and Vargas reminded employers that state and federal tax credits are available to offset accommodation costs.

In response to a question from an employer concerned that he could be liable for a lawsuit if he interviewed—but didn’t hire—a person with a disability, Vargas emphasized that, "The law allows the employer to hire the most qualified individual—with or without disabilities.  The [person with a disability] has to be qualified."

Vargas further stated that the ADA law was "vaguely written" to allow more workable solutions to all the possible scenarios that employers face when considering hiring people with disabilities. In Vargas’ opinion, if a specific set or an explicit "list of disabilities" and mandatory accommodations "had been written into the law, it wouldn’t work for either the employer or the employee." 

Evaluations
Evaluations completed by attendees overwhelmingly rated the quality of the event as "excellent." The responses of what employers liked the best about the workshop include "the ability to have honest concerns addressed," "variety of topics covered," "clear, concise and to the point" and "informative, interactive, accessible." Many expressed a desire to expand and refresh with knowledge at disability awareness trainings in the future.

Sponsors
The event was funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration and the American Express Foundation, and co-sponsored by the Disabilities Network of New York City, the Hispanic Federation, the Manhattan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, the NYState Commission on Quality of Care and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities and the United Way of New York City. These sponsors all are committed to increasing employment opportunities for people with disabilities, particularly those from diverse populations.

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