In case you missed it, October marked National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Here’s why it matters: People with disabilities represent a vast pool of untapped talent in a competitive global labor force, particularly with the domestic unemployment rate at historically low levels.
Nevertheless, too many companies still ignore people with disabilities in the hiring process — despite their proven talent, merit and ability to do the job. Moreover, even some progressive employers which hire persons with disabilities may fail to retain, train and advance this overlooked segment of the workforce due to unlawful discrimination.
Employment bias against persons with disabilities is based on myths, fears, stereotypes and other artificial barriers. Corporate America cannot claim to champion workplace DEI on one hand, while ignoring qualified people with disabilities (PWD) on the other.
Rather, CEOs and corporate executives must recall that DEI always includes disability. You cannot have one without the other. However, the lingering stigma of disability discrimination must change if savvy employers want to maximize the best available talent.
It’s notable that disability cuts across racial, gender, ethnic, religious and age-based lines. There’s no demographic group of citizens which excludes people with disabilities.
Employer Responsibility
This includes employer responsibilities to voluntarily comply with the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which prohibits employment discrimination against applicants and workers with disabilities (whether intentional, unintentional or subconscious).
The ADA is enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), where I worked for two decades during my career of federal public service. Even the federal government has more progress to make regarding disability employment in order to meet the goal of being a model workplace.
The ADA covers both physical and mental disability impairments, the latter of which are often hidden from public view.
Hidden disabilities include depression, anxiety disorder and a host of other mental health issues affecting tens of millions of Americans and their families. Mental impairments, or psychiatric disabilities, receive even less attention by the business community compared to more obvious physical disabilities.
People with disabilities account for 42 million Americans, or about 13 percent of the civilian non-institutionalized population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
As President Biden noted in his proclamation on NDEAM: “People with disabilities are three times less likely to have a job, and when they do, they are often paid less money for doing the same work.”
7 Important Facts
According to the Pew Research Center, following are seven significant facts to remember about Americans with disabilities (see link for more detailed data and related information):
- Older Americans are significantly more likely than younger adults to have a disability.
- Americans in certain racial and ethnic groups are more likely to have a disability.
- The most common types of disability in the U.S. involve difficulties with walking, independent living or cognition.
- Americans with disabilities tend to earn less than those who do not have a disability.
- Disabled Americans have lower rates of technology adoption for some devices.
- Disabled Americans are much more likely than other Americans to have faced psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Employed Americans generally think their workplace is accessible for people with physical disabilities.
“America is the only country in the world founded on an idea: that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives,”said President Biden in his NDEAM proclamation.
He added: “We celebrate all the people with disabilities who have moved our Nation closer to realizing that ideal and, in the process, have made America more prosperous, inclusive, and humane.”
Final Thoughts
Disability employment remains a persistent problem, despite broad efforts by the federal government and disability rights groups to promote voluntary compliance with the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).
One might think more progress had been made by now, more than 30-years after the ADA’s enactment. This is especially true due to new and evolving assistive technology to help people with disabilities in the workplace and society.
But about-one third of the U.S. EEOC’s total annual caseload includes allegations of disability discrimination under the ADA — accounting for 25,000 cases alone in 2022 (fiscal year).
Moreover, the EEOC has increasingly been suing private employers, including class action litigation, after finding discrimination occurred and being unable to reach a voluntary resolution — through mediation and conciliation — due to employer intransigence.
Unfortunately, disability discrimination is still a pervasive problem in the employment context, despite incremental gains over the decades to level the playing field.
ADR ADVISOR Grinberg is a strategic communications consultant, ghostwriter, and literary PR agent on issues of workforce diversity, equal employment opportunity, race and gender equity, and other social justice causes. A native New Yorker and University of Maryland graduate, David began his career in journalism. He's a former career spokesman for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), where he managed media relations for agency headquarters and 50 field offices nationwide for over a decade. Prior to his EEOC public service, David was a young political appointee for Pres. Bill Clinton in the White House: Office of Presidential Personnel, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
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David, your article prompted reflections on my extensive experience in state-level vocational rehabilitation services, particularly my involvement in organizing events for National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). Over the years, I’ve witnessed numerous success stories involving individuals overcoming challenges like amputation, paraplegia, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), cerebral palsy, severe mental illness, and veterans reintegrating into the workforce post-trauma.
Your piece is a timely reminder of the importance of increasing awareness, especially among laypersons and employers, about the potential and opportunities in vocational rehabilitation for individuals with diverse challenges. Bridging this knowledge gap is essential, particularly in enlightening employers about the capabilities of individuals facing various disabilities. Your contribution to this discourse is commendable.
In essence, your article resonates with my experiences, highlighting the progress made in supporting individuals with disabilities on their journey to meaningful employment