Employment of People with Disabilities
General Overview
When people with disabilities have equitable access to work opportunities and are represented at all levels of an organization, the entire organization benefits from a rich and diverse workforce. People with disabilities can participate in your organization in many ways — as staff, leadership, artists, consultants, or volunteers — and can bring a variety of perspectives, lived experiences, and talents to your work. Employees with disabilities are protected by several federal laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act, which prohibit discrimination and require the provision of reasonable accommodations. Yet employing people with disabilities also involves additional considerations and best practices that build on and go beyond meeting legal requirements. Organizations should prioritize accessibility and diversity as an asset-based approach to creating a welcoming workplace environment. This means ensuring that recruitment, hiring, and employment practices are designed not only to be accessible, but also to embrace and uplift the contributions of people with disabilities. Following these best practices can make employees with disabilities an integral part of your organization’s culture and success.
Implementation
Ensuring equity and accessibility for people with disabilities should be considered through all stages of the employment process. This section presents several best practices to consider, from recruitment through interviewing and ongoing employment.
Employment of people with disabilities begins with recruitment. To make your recruitment process more inclusive, consider the following practices:
- Make sure you are recruiting from sources and posting on platforms that are accessible and inclusive to people with disabilities.
- Work to establish relationships with organizations in your community that help promote and support the employment of people with disabilities.
- Ensure that the language you use, the formats you post information in, and the job description itself are all accessible and inclusive.
Job descriptions are another feature of the hiring process that can be made more inclusive for all. Accessible job descriptions should:
- Be provided in multiple formats, including plain-text screen-reader friendly formats
- Use clear language
- Clearly state essential and non-essential job functions
- Describe the work environment (physical and otherwise)
- Provide transparent salary information
- Share the organization’s inclusion statement (this is more than an anti-discrimination statement)
- Provide contact information for requesting modifications or accommodations during the interview or screening process
- Consider volunteer experience as job experience
- Remove requirements that are not actually required (i.e. listing “standing or walking” if the tasks can be completed seated or a college degree if a high school diploma is sufficient)
An example job description that meets the above criteria can be found in the Learn More section of this page.
To ensure equitable access to employment, the application and interview process should be accessible. Consider the following best practices:
- Allow applications to be submitted in multiple formats.
- Provide mechanisms to request accommodations or modifications to the interview process as needed.
- Provide interview questions in advance, as well as any information that could help an applicant best prepare for the interview experience — including location, people involved, agenda, expectations, etc.
- Remember that employers cannot ask an applicant if they are disabled or ask about the nature or severity of their disability. (An employer may ask an applicant if they can perform the duties of the job with or without reasonable accommodation, and can ask the applicant to describe or demonstrate how they would do so.)
Once hired, it is important to ensure the employee is supported to do their best work, including providing any necessary accommodations or modifications. Here are some best practices for providing accommodations:
- Work directly with the employee to determine what accommodations are necessary, taking their preference into consideration and implementing the accommodation that is most appropriate for both parties.
- Remember that it is the employer’s responsibility to cover the cost of accommodations. (According to the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), the average cost of an accommodation is approximately $500.)
- During new employee hiring processes, integrate procedures and prompts for supervisors to request accommodations. For example, when requesting an employee’s laptop from IT, integrate prompts to ask supervisors if new employees need adaptive software.
Ensuring that employees with disabilities have an equitable and enjoyable work experience goes beyond accommodations alone. You can also foster a more inclusive workplace culture through the following tips:
- Build an organizational ethos that respects and values diversity, trains staff on disability inclusion, and addresses stigma and misconceptions about disabilities.
- Work to normalize accommodations as a part of all employees’ experience in the workplace.
- Make sure all areas and aspects of work (including outings, training, shared spaces like cafeterias, break rooms, etc.) are accessible to employees with disabilities.
Finally, develop feedback mechanisms to improve your organization’s approach to inclusiveness, considering the following:
- Continuously assess and adapt workplace practices to ensure they meet the evolving needs of employees with disabilities and employees who become disabled during their employment.
- Engaging employees in discussions about their experiences and needs can provide invaluable insights for improvement.
Associated Legal Requirements or Obligations
Please note that, while this content was developed by people with expertise in the ADA and legal requirements related to access, it was created for informational purposes and should not be considered legal advice.
- Title I of the ADA
- Prohibition of Discrimination (29 CFR § 1630.4):
Employers cannot discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities in any aspect of employment, including hiring, job assignments, promotions, compensation, training, and benefits. - Reasonable Accommodations (29 CFR § 1630.9):
Employers must provide reasonable accommodations unless doing so would create an undue hardship. Accommodations may include modifications to work environments, policies, schedules, or job duties. - Medical Examinations and Inquiries (29 CFR § 1630.13 – § 1630.14):
Employers may not require medical exams or ask about a disability before a job offer is made. After a conditional job offer, medical inquiries are permitted if required for all employees in the same job category. - Interactive Process (29 CFR § 1630.2(o)(3)):
Employers must engage in an interactive process with an employee who requests an accommodation to determine an effective solution.
- Prohibition of Discrimination (29 CFR § 1630.4):
- Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act
Applies to federal employees and federally contracted employees.
- Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination (29 U.S.C. § 791(b)):
Federal agencies in the executive branch are required to implement affirmative action programs for the hiring, placement, and advancement of individuals with disabilities. These programs must be updated annually and submitted to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). - Personal Assistance Services (29 CFR § 1614.203(d)(5)):
Agencies must provide personal assistance services to employees with targeted disabilities, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship. federalregister.gov - Prohibition of Adverse Actions (12 CFR § 268.203(c)(1)(iii)):
Agencies are prohibited from taking adverse actions against job applicants or employees based on their need for, or perceived need for, personal assistance services.
- Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination (29 U.S.C. § 791(b)):
- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
- Employment Non-Discrimination (29 U.S.C. § 794(a)):
Federal employers and recipients of federal funding must ensure that qualified individuals with disabilities are not excluded from employment or subjected to discrimination. - Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act has also been interpreted to cover employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability by employers who receive federal financial assistance. HHS guidance on 504 says “For purposes of employment, qualified individuals with disabilities are persons who, with reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the job for which they have applied or have been hired to perform. (Complaints alleging employment discrimination on the basis of disability against a single individual will be referred to the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for processing.)“
- Employment Non-Discrimination (29 U.S.C. § 794(a)):
See also:
Learn More
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Experts
- Abilities Dance Boston
- Access/VSA Office, Kennedy Center
- Alexandra V Asbury
- Beth Bienvenu, Ph.D.
- Cheryl Cumings
- Clovernook Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired
- Heather Watkins
- International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP)
- Mayo Performing Arts Center
- Move to Include
- Omnium Circus
- Access Gallery
- Damon McLeese
- Museum Arts and Culture Access Consortium
- Arizona Commission for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing
- Moab Musica y Arte