Diversity And Accommodations                                                       In The Workplace For The Disabled

There are many misconceptions and stereotypes about the ability of disabled individuals to work effectively. Disabled people are often perceived as hindered by their disability and unable to work, although the majority of disabled individuals can work and be productive with very minor accommodations in the workplace. People with disabilities are the largest minority group in the United States (more than 50 million Americans), and have the highest unemployment rate in the country at 70 percent.

Debra Ruh’s daughter Sara, who has Down Syndrome, always wanted to be a nurse. But because she reads at a lower level than that required to take the tests required to go to school to become a nurse, she was unable to pursue that dream. Debra wanted to find a job that Sara could perform and be proud of that wasn’t one of the remedial tasks that many employers and individuals suggest when asked what types of employment they have available for the disabled.

Ruh saw the potential that disabled people have and noticed that their valuable skills were being severely underutilized, even when they were gainfully employed. She decided to leave her careers as a high paid IT executive for a bank and founded her own company, TecAccess, which offers IT consulting and training to companies, government and educational institutions.

Since founding TecAccess in 2001, Ruh’s company has grown from a mere 2 employees to nearly 60 full-time and contracted employees. The majority of her employees have physical or developmental disabilities including blindness, bipolar disorder, brain injury, quadriplegia, and cerebral palsy. Ruh created this unique business because she saw how creative, innovative and productive that people with disabilities can be.

But starting tech access wasn’t without obstacles. Just getting investors to fund the project was difficult, as some could not get past their preconceived notions about the ability of a disabled workforce to function. And just like any other entrepreneurial venture, TecAccess had its share of growing pains, with some profitable years and some not so profitable years. But the company is now profitable, and Ruh is proud of the fact that she has never had to lay off any employees. She has a 90 percent retention rate of her workers, partly because many of the employees are so grateful to have a job and for the environment she's created.

Disabled worker turnover, as Ruh can attest, is much lower (8 percent) than turnover for other workers, who have an overall turnover rate of 45 percent. Attendance of disabled workers, that is showing up to work, is better than that of the average worker, and according to a recent national survey of 279 companies by the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers found that 90% of the companies surveyed reported no effect on insurance costs as a result of hiring workers with disabilities.

On top of the advantages of better attendance rates, no effect on company insurance rates and loyal employees who truly want to work, there lies another plus for employers who hire the disabled, which is The Work Opportunity Tax Credit. Several conditions merit the use of this credit by employers. One of those conditions is the hiring of a person with disabilities, working through a vocational rehabilitation program. Through the use of this tax credit an employer can receive up to $6,000 dollars for the first 2 years of the employee’s employ. 

With all of these benefits, why are companies failing to hire people with disabilities?