October was National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) in the United States. Too often the media simply presents a feel-good story. That is not helpful to a business wanting to know the costs and benefits of hiring a person with a disability.
Let’s forget the feel-good bullshit and consider the bottom line. What does it cost you when you do NOT hire someone with a disability?
Two views of taxes show some important costs in:
- What you paid
- What you get for what you paid
Why does the government support employment of people with disabilities?
Short answer; because of the long history of employment discrimination. People with assets to offer have been denied the opportunity to contribute to our society. Denied the chance to build a better life for themselves.
The Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990. A lot of focus was on improving employment opportunities for people with disabilities in response to widespread discrimination. Even with the assistance and discrimination protection, the statistics are still horrifying. “In 2017, 18.7 percent of persons with a disability were employed, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. In contrast, the employment-population ratio for those without a disability was 65.7 percent.”
Everyone with a disability cannot work and some are not seeking work for one reason or another. The same is true for the non-disabled population. So let’s look at employment figures.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2017 shows the unemployment rate for:
- Persons with a disability was 9.2 percent
- more than twice that of persons with no disability (4.2 percent).
- Men with a disability, the rate (9.0 percent) was about the same as for women (9.5 percent) and
- Blacks (13.8 percent) continued to have a higher unemployment rate than Hispanics (10.2 percent), Whites (8.5 percent), and Asians (6.6 percent).
- And 32 percent of workers with a disability were employed part-time, compared with 17 percent for those with no disability.
Major technology and finance/accounting companies have recognized the ability for intense, long duration focus as a unique asset of people with autism. A number of these corporations now target individuals with autism because of the benefit they bring to certain positions. Check out this video from Al Jazeera and/or this article from Monster.com.
This is not about feel-good stories. These employees are hired because they have superior skills for this type of work. When you look at abilities instead of disabilities you will find there are outstanding candidates you might have overlooked
What are you paying for?
Starting at the state level, every state has some agency responsible for employment and vocational training for people with disabilities. To demonstrate how this works I will use my personal example.
At 15 a sustained a spinal cord injury. When I turned 18 I became eligible for assistance from the Georgia Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. I met with my VR counselor to develop a plan. He explained that the state has a formula would they consider my earnings potential, the amount of tax I would be paying and they calculate a percentage of that amount to invest in my training and assisting me to become employed.
You paid for that, but I paid it back with my taxes. What about those people who were sent to college, vocational training and received other assistance but have not been able to find employment? You pay for them.
The US government provides a number of resources to assist businesses. Speak to experts in topics including hiring, technology, accommodations
Learn about the variety of resources and how they can help you in all aspects of hiring and employment at Access Ape resource page.
What are you getting back?
Nothing unless you’re hiring someone with a disability. This array of resources, which you are paying for, is sitting there waiting for you. Are you missing out on an opportunity here?
There are opportunities at the state and national level for free consultations to learn about employing people with disabilities. Fear of the unknown is the greatest problem in all aspects of our life. These resources are put in place to provide knowledge and understanding to get you past the fear the unknown.
Additional benefits are also brought to light. Tax incentives put money back in your pocket for hiring people with disabilities.
Take a moment to consider this as you make your employment decision. You have:
- candidates that have been trained,
- who are eligible for additional training at no expense to you, and
- it actually saves you money to hire a candidate with a disability because of these tax incentives!
Now that you are aware of these resources you can take a moment to learn what you are paying for. Then you will understand why the
