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Job Descriptions

In hiring people with disabilities, an important consideration is the distinction between "essential" and "non-essential" job duties. An applicant with a disability who cannot perform an essential function of a job (with or without an accommodation) can legally be disqualified from competition for a particular job. No one can be disqualified by being unable to perform non-essential job duties.

Generally, essential job duties would be those which are central to the central purpose for which the job was created, those that cannot be readily performed by other people in the workplace and/or those which require a specialized skill set.

A good job description can help you to identify essential functions from non-essential ones - and focus your recruiting activities and interviewing processes on the essential ones.

Accommodations

People in your organization who are responsible for hiring decisions need to have a good basic understanding of job accommodations if they are going to be effective at considering people with disabilities for your job openings. In a poll of members of the Society for Human Resources Management, when asked to identify the major barrier to the employment and hiring of people with disabilities, 31% cited supervisors’ lack of knowledge about accommodations. Another study revealed that 40% of employers believe that it is difficult or costly to accommodate workers with disabilities.

Whether it is accomplished by informational brochures, live training sessions, or intranet content, it is important for people who make hiring decisions to be aware of the following key points about job accommodations:

They need to know that most people with disabilities don't need them.
Studies show that less than 25% of employees with disabilities use job accommodations of any kind.

They need to know that most aren't expensive.
Only about 15% of employees with disabilities require accommodations that incur a cost (approximately 7% of accommodations are no-cost solutions). Of those, about 56% cost less than $500, 28% cost $501 - $1000, and only 16% cost more than $1000. In fact, only 0.2% of accommodations cost more than $5000.

They need to be aware of your company's commitment to them.
If they are interviewing a job applicant requires an accommodation, your employees need to know where your company's commitment, policies and practices around job accommodations - how job accommodations are selected, approved and purchased.

They need to understand that essentially they are just productivity tools.
Whether they consist of specialized equipment, altered routines, or revised schedules, job accommodations are simply just a way to enhance the performance of employees with disabilities in order to maximize their productivity on the job. Most companies seek to enhance the productivity of their employees with the best possible tools and equipment. Job accommodations for employees with disabilities are simply an extension of this principle.

They need to know that providing REASONABLE accommodations is a legal obligation.
If your company has 15 or more employees it is covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Your employees need to be aware that, under this legislation, you are obligated to provide any "reasonable" job accommodations that are required by an applicant or employee with a disability. Your employees cannot choose not to interview or hire someone with a disability because of the cost of accommodations (assuming they are reasonable). Such an action would be considered discrimination - and be the basis for taking legal action against your company.

They need to know what accommodations are possible.
Your employees that make hiring decisions need to be aware that "common sense" assumptions about what people with disabilities can and cannot do are not reliable. They need to be aware that job accommodations make the seemingly impossible, possible. They don't have to become job accommodation experts, but they should be made aware of some of the amazing technologies that exist - elevating wheelchairs, screen readers, remote (video conferencing) sign language interpreting, voice activated computers, etc.

NOTE: Your best source for determining needed accommodations for the interview or the job is likely going to be the person with a disability themselves.

Re-evaluating Perceptions

According to a recent survey, 32% of employers said that that people with disabilities cannot effectively perform the type of work that is required by people employed by their company. Obviously widespread, this belief is entirely erroneous. As renowned disability expert Richard Pimentel says: "There is a good person with a disability for every job in your company... including CEO."

Most of the hiring discrimination encountered by people with disabilities probably stems from this kind of belief. Rooted in ignorance and misinformation, it can be readily removed from your workforce by providing your employees with new information - examples of people with different disabilities who are flourishing in their careers.

Additional resources and links

Information acquired from Oregon Business Leadership Network