Supporting Employees with Disabilities

Despite making up over a quarter of the US population, people with disabilities remain underrepresented in the workforce. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2022, only 21% of people with a disability were employed, as compared to 65% of people without a disability. Many individuals with disabilities want to work and contribute their skills and talent, yet they are often faced with significant barriers to employment. Common barriers include a lack of accommodations for people with physical, sensory, and cognitive disabilities in business processes, work environments, and job design.

In addition, many employers hold misconceptions about the capabilities, reliability, and costs associated with hiring individuals with disabilities. Employers often assume that hiring individuals with disabilities will lead to higher insurance costs, legal liabilities, or administrative burdens. In reality, when provided appropriate accommodations, individuals with disabilities may often be more motivated to work, better able to identify creative solutions, perform more consistently, and have lower turnover and absenteeism rates. For more, check out this journal article on economic arguments for hiring people with disabilities.

Key strategies to achieve ADA compliance

Individuals with disabilities are an overlooked population in United States workforces. To protect this population and promote greater opportunities, the United States passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. This civil rights law prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in various areas, including employment, public accommodations, and telecommunications. To help companies support individuals with disabilities, the ADA provides certain guidelines to promote fairness and equal opportunity. Below are some strategies to help your company stay compliant with ADA guidelines and foster a more supportive and inclusive work environment.

1. Ensure physical accessibility: To improve physical accessibility, companies should install wheelchair ramps and automatic doors, widen hallways and doorways to at least 32 inches wide, provide accessible parking spaces, and create accessible bathrooms with grab bars and wider stalls.
2. Ensure digital accessibility: For digital accessibility, company websites should adhere to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). This includes providing alternative text for images, captions for videos, proper heading structure, keyboard navigation, and clear, concise language. In addition, mobile apps should also follow guidelines for accessibility. Considerations for this include screen reader compatibility, adjustable font sizes, and color contrast. To ensure document accessibility, create tagged PDFs and provide text descriptions for images within a document.
3. Provide reasonable workplace accommodations: Communicate with employees to understand their unique needs and work collaboratively to explore potential accommodations to address them. Common accommodations include modifications to the work environment, changes in work schedule, adaptive equipment, assistive technology, or job restructuring.
4. Establish inclusive policies and systems: Implement an ADA non-discrimination policy and ensure that it’s actively enforced. Designate a team or person to be responsible for handling accommodation requests, auditing compliance, and responding to any grievances. Any concerns or reports of discrimination must be taken seriously and addressed immediately.
5. Implement inclusive hiring practices: Craft job descriptions that focus on essential job functions and skills. Avoid using language or requirements that may inadvertently exclude qualified individuals with disabilities. Also, consider enhancing the accessibility of the job application process by providing alternative formats for applications and offering accommodations during interviews, such as sign language interpreters or assistive technology.
6. Maintain ongoing compliance: Periodically conduct accessibility audits of your company’s digital platforms and physical spaces to identify areas of non-compliance and ensure continued accessibility. Stay informed about changes in ADA guidelines and adjust your practices accordingly. Engage employees with disabilities to gather feedback and gain insight into potential barriers and areas for improvement.

By implementing these strategies, organizations can create an inclusive and supportive workplace where employees with disabilities feel valued, empowered, and able to thrive.

About Arbor

Arbor enables leaders to easily capture, analyze, and benchmark DEI and workforce outcomes. Arbor’s self-ID surveys enable organizations to compliantly and securely capture employee-disclosed demographic data, including disability status, while staying compliant with regional data privacy and security regulations. Beyond collecting the data, Arbor’s dashboard helps organizations uncover trends around workplace fairness and accessibility.

‍