Employing the disabled?

Do employees with disabilities Entail Higher Costs Than Employees Without Disabilities?

California Governor's committee for Employment of the Handicapped, 1978 People with disabilities incur lower costs than average employee Americans with Disabilities Act Costly accommodations and other investments Accommodations
Special Equipment Scheduling of breaks Task Substitution Office redesign Computer software Increased access 18% 16% 11% 10% 10% 10%

Job Accommodation Network (Oct92 Jul99)

71% accommodation costs are $500 or less 20% of these cost nothing

Therefore, evidence suggests that these costs are minor and unlikely to tip the benefit vs. cost assessment away from hiring this source of labor

Do employees Experience More Litigation Associated With Terminating People With Disabilities?
Employers feel that it will be difficult to terminate them if their performance doesnt meet expectations Fear : It will expose them to potential employment discrimination laws
Costly Poor publicity 9.4% were related to discrimination 62.9% for wrongful termination 29% for accommodation Of the 696 lawsuits charging violation of ADA 96% decisions were favorable for employer

Of the charges filed with EEOC ( 1992 -1997)

Allbrigth (2001) and Lee (2001)

Therefore the evidence is indirect and inconclusive. However, employer concerns may be more overstated then justified

Do Coworkers React Negatively to Employees With Disabilities?

Fear: Coworkers will react negatively to working with PWDs thereby
Lower productivity Inccreased labor costs Make organizations less profitable Negative effect on work related outcomes. Eg. Workload, rewards codependent on PWD Negative effect on personal outcomes Eg. Fear that some disabilities are contagious Negative effect on interpersonal outcomes Eg. Interaction with PWDs -> Guilt, avoidance PWDs received more task related commands. Involved with employment specialists Less involved in joking and testing at work Were asked for information more frequently Interacted with significantly greater number of different people

Stone and Colella (1996)

Lingnugaris-Kraft, Salzberg, Rule and Stowitschek (1988)

People without disabilities

There are plausible explanations for why coworkers may react negatively to employees with disabilities, little evidence suggests these reactions are, in fact, commonplace

Do Customers React Negatively to Employees With Disabilities?

Fear: Customers without disabilities may have negative reactions to interactions with PWDs and therefore transact less business
Lower quality output/ products Incapable of delivering same level of service Contagion of disabilities Awkwardness, discomfort, ambivalence and guilt

There are plausible explanations for why customers may react negatively to employees with disabilities, little evidence suggests these reactions are, in fact, commonplace No research has been conducted to test the validity of these propositions

Conclusion
Why PWDs have difficulty obtaining employment by examining employer perceptions of PWDs as human resources Hiring and retaining PWDs is a win-win solution
for PWD, employer and society

They wish to work for reasons similar to that of non disabled people Employers need best talent available to compete in a global economy Society is better off as then they pay taxes, purchase and reduce their dependency on tax payer-supported assistance programs An author estimates that a society could save ~$37 bn /yr in benefit payments alone Govt. programs should be re-examined Tax incentives for hiring PWDs PWDs are responsible for making themselves employable Undiscovered oil in the ground

Thank you !!