A Few Notes on the American Labor Market and the Need for Employer Engagement in Vocational Rehabilitation
•50 million Americans had their employment interrupted in 2020 or 2021
•10 million of these people have not returned to work
•20 million new jobs created since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic
•Pivot to virtual and remote work, then back to the physical workplace
•Growth in sectors such as technology, finance, healthcare, energy, the arts, restaurants, and manufacturing
• 4.1% unemployment
•Labor force participation is down in the general population since COVID-19, 72% of working-age people
•Graying of America – proportionally more retirees and fewer workers to support the economy
•Full employment economy and fewer workers = national labor shortage
•2 jobs open for every available applicant
•Employers are more receptive than ever before to hiring and accommodating workers with disabilities
•The problem: only 39% of working-age adults with disabilities in the U.S. are employed for pay – this is not good enough!
•Employers need our help to build a more inclusive workforce and fill the labor shortage
•Opportunity knocks – let’s get to work!
Strategy 1: Finding the Jobs
•O*NET
•Keep track of who is hiring in your community
•Ask employers what kind of workers with what skills they are looking for
•Know which workers are looking for what types of jobs
•Match their credentials with the many available employment opportunities
•Don’t wait to see the posting – ask employers if they are hiring, they probably are
Strategy 2: Establish Yourself as a Labor Supply Resource
- Become a member of the employer community
- Chambers of Commerce
- Rotary Clubs
- Local and state workforce development boards
- Society for Human Resource Management
- Direct connections with local employers, not just one worker at a time
- Start at the top of the organization – the most influential person
- Professional organizations (manufacturing, healthcare, engineering, education, etc.)
- Trade associations and labor unions
Strategy 3: Help Employers with Their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives
- Yes, some employers still believe in DEI
- ADA consultation and implementation
- Disability awareness training
- Become a direct referral source, both directions
- Workplace accommodations and assistive technology
- Introduce employers to the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) and the ADA Centers National Network
- Inform disability management and occupational health/safety practices
- Employee Assistance Programs and mental health
- Trauma-informed workplace
- Employee affinity and resource groups
- Employers will appreciate your content expertise and your role as a broker of high-quality employees
Strategy 4: Become Part of the Human Resource Process
- Pre-screen workers as applicants for the employer
- Assist workers with online applications
- Make sure workers are prepared for virtual and in-person interviews
- Help workers negotiate job offers and get onboarded with employers
- Suggest and, in some cases, provide technology and other accommodations needed to start or maintain jobs
- When a worker leaves a job, help the employer find a replacement
- Through these strategies, you become an important link in the chain of referral, application, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, job retention, and ongoing workforce development
Strategy 5: Develop Paid Employment Opportunities for Workers with Disabilities
- Internships
- Co-Ops
- Apprenticeships
- Supported and customized employment
- Situational assessments and trial work experiences
- Transitional employment
- Modified duty off-site
- Does the employer have particular interests in certain types of workers (e.g., Veterans, neurodivergent youth, older workers)
Strategy 6: Setting the Record Straight About Hiring and Retaining Workers
with Disabilities
- In spite of significant progress in employers’ willingness to hire, accommodate, and retain workers with disabilities, myths and misconceptions persist in employers’ attitudes
- A recent study of Fortune 500 employers revealed numerous stereotypical beliefs about workers with disabilities that do not stand up to empirical evidence
- In the remainder of this presentation, I review some of these myths and provide facts that set the record straight
Myths
- 40.4% of working-age adults with disabilities are currently employed
- Of those people with disabilities who are not employed, 75% would like to be, and 80% believe they have the ability to work
- 70% of all Americans who receive SSI or SSDI benefits say they would prefer to be working
- People with disabilities have a wide range of interests and career aspirations. Their disability should not limit their career options
- Disability has no effect on vocational interests
- People with disabilities have the same range of interests as nondisabled people
- Vocational interests are stable over time and normally distributed among people with and without disabilities
- Lack of employment experience should not be confused with a lack of vocational interest
- Public schools begin preparing students with disabilities for their careers as early as age 14
- Career and technical education programs in public schools are well known for preparing students with disabilities for high-demand occupations
- The state-Federal Vocational Rehabilitation program provides job training and employment assistance to millions of people with disabilities
- The number of students with disabilities attending colleges and universities has increased by more than 800% since 1980
- People who acquire disabilities at work, in the military, and in mid-career often have extensive work experience
- Workers with and without disabilities start their careers in entry-level jobs
- Workers with disabilities have similar rates of promotion and salary increases as nondisabled workers
- Workers with disabilities contribute to the economy at all levels of employment
- In several cross-disability studies, only about 1/3 of workers with disabilities reported using any accommodations at all
- Of those who do use accommodations, the average number is 1.8
- Many workers with disabilities self-accommodate in ways that employers and co-workers never even notice
- According to the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), 57% of all disability-related accommodations cost nothing at all
- Most common form of accommodation: Schedule modifications
- Of the 43% of accommodations that do bear a cost, the average expenditure is $517
- $517 is a good investment in job retention compared to the high cost of employee turnover
- Any accommodation that constitutes an undue hardship for the employer is not required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- A survey of HR managers conducted by Cornell University found that companies’ health, life, and disability insurance costs rarely rise because of hiring employees with disabilities
- Employed people with disabilities utilize health care services (including mental health) at virtually identical rates as nondisabled workers
- Studies continually find that workers with disabilities have similar or lower rates of absenteeism and sickness than other employees
- Job accommodations often allow workers with disabilities to be even more productive than nondisabled workers
- Job coaching and other workplace supports have proven that they enhance productivity
- The DuPont Corporation’s Equal to the Task studies continually reveal that workers with disabilities have virtually identical productivity and safety records
- Disability does not equate with lower productivity
- Some disabilities do affect cognitive or intellectual functioning – most do not
- Only 12% of ADA-covered disabilities are known to result in difficulties with learning, information processing, and/or remembering
- All employees, whether they have disabilities or not, learn and retain information in their own way and at their own pace
- Assistive technology is available to help workers learn skills, remember information, organize and prioritize tasks, and monitor their work performance Visit the Job Accommodation Network at https://askjan.org/
- There are 69 million Americans with disabilities, not including those with Long COVID, which became a disability in 2021
- Everyone knows someone with a disability – it is a naturally occurring and, therefore, normal part of life
- 85% of Americans will experience a disability at some point in their lives
- Most nondisabled workers are not uncomfortable around people with disabilities
- For those who are, an opportunity exists for training, awareness of disability etiquette, and the realization that an accessible workplace benefits all workers
- Workers with disabilities are less likely to be “written up” for violations of social or behavioral norms than nondisabled workers
- Workers with disabilities are frequently targets of harassment, intimidation, and bullying on the job, but they are rarely the perpetrators
- Although about 50% of workers with disabilities report experiencing workplace discrimination, less than 2% report making a formal complaint
- Only 1 out of 1,500 workers with disabilities reports being a party to an ADA Title I lawsuit
- This rate of litigation is very similar to the litigation rates of other protected classes under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 An employer with 1000+ employees (2% of all employers) has a 1:4,800 risk of being named in an ADA Title I allegation in any given year