Hiring People with Disabilities

Accommodation allows good employees to maximize their abilities and skills

By Tonya Vinas, Writer, Editor, Researcher, Tonya Vinas

Many working people have disabilities, some of which are more visible or disabling than others. An employee who wears bifocals and enlarges computer type to see better is someone overcoming a disability. So is someone who uses a wheelchair and adjusts his desk accordingly. When hiring someone with a disability, focus on these areas:

Education: Find out about the disability and how it impacts the employee's abilities.
Accommodation: Respond by doing as much as possible to accommodate the employee. This could mean changing lighting, adjusting furniture, reworking schedules, investing in voice- or vision-assist technology, etc.
Legal matters: Understand your obligations under laws that protect the rights of people with disabilities, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Get helpful equipment

Lots of devices on the market assist people with hearing, vision and other skills.
Try: Samsung makes a Braille mobile phone for people with vision impairment; Clarity sells a variety of devices (some under $50) that assist with volume amplification for phones; and IBM division AlphaWorks makes a mouse tracking device that users control with head movement. Find more products at the Assistive Technology News Portal.

Look for free and cheap

Some adjustments and assistance are free or low-cost.
Try: Firefox browser, a free, open-source browser, is evolving to allow for adjustments to accommodate disabilities, such as minimizing the number of keystrokes needed to navigate the Web. Another cheap solution: tape recorders. People with visual impairments often prefer to communicate and work with these instead of written materials. RadioShack sells digital r ecorders for $29.99 and many new phones offer the digital recording tools as well.

Make way for wheelchairs

You may need to install an automatic door opener, an elevator, or hand-control devices on company cars, as well as rearranging furniture.
Try: A stand-up wheelchair allows someone to stand while working at a counter, desk or table. These are available from custom builders such as 21st Century Scientific. See detailed information on adjusting to other disabilities at the Job Accomodation Network.

Know the law

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) covers businesses with more than 15 employees. The states that employers must make "reasonable accommodations" for disabled workers, giving them the same rights and privileges as other employees unless it can prove that doing so would create an "undue hardship" on the business. If the employee's disability requires regular medical care, any absences may be protected under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
Try: Here are the regulations for the ADA and the FMLA.

When interviewing a job applicant with a disability, don't be shy about gathering as much information as you need within the context of job performance. Your job is to help the person do his or her job. You can't do this without asking questions.