Dealing Effectively with Disability Accommodations By Susanne M. BruyŠre, Ph.D., SPHR As a manager of human resources, one of your most important tasks is administering the process of providing reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities. It is estimated that there are 43 million Americans with disabilities, approximately one in six of us. Many of these individuals are unemployed or underemployed compared to their non-disabled peers, and represent a significant and as yet untapped U.S. labor pool. This is true despite the fact that it has been a decade since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which prohibits disability discrimination. According to Burkhauser, Daly, and Houtenville (2000), using the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS) for working-age civilians in 1999, 34% of men and 33% of women with disabilities were employed during last year, compared to 95% of men and 82% of women without disabilities. Men and women with disabilities also worked fewer hours on average (approximately one-third less) than those without disabilities. In order to examine more closely the barriers to employment for people with disabilities post ADA, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) partnered with Cornell University to conduct a survey of SHRM membership in the fall of 1998. The research approach was based on the premise that the implementation of the employment provisions of disability nondiscrimination legislation is often a function of human resource (HR) professionals, who are responsible for the recruitment, pre-employment screening and other workplace practices that affect the hiring and retention of workers with and without disabilities. The survey sample consisted of 1,402 randomly selected SHRM members. The survey had a response rate of 73 percent of the 1116 eligible respondents. The survey's results are thus based on the responses from 813 human resource (HR) professionals who completed telephone interviews conducted by the Cornell University Computer-Assisted Survey Team (CAST). Although the vast majority of the SHRM respondents were from private companies (over 96 percent), a small proportion of respondents (n=30) indicated their industry type as "public administration" (state or local government). Since size of organization often makes a significant difference it is also worthy of note that 43% of respondents were from businesses of fewer than 500 employees, while 32% were from businesses of 2,500 or more. Many Organizations Make ADA-Related Accommodations Results of the Cornell University survey of SHRM members indicated that many organizations have made accommodations for their employees with disabilities. According to survey data, more large (2,500 or more employees) and medium-sized (500 to 2,499 employees) organizations provided accommodations compared to small (less than 500 employees) organizations. The vast majority of organizations that had not provided an accommodation answered that they "never needed to provide" the accommodation. When faced with a need, over 96% of the respondents made the accommodation regardless of the size of the organization. Approximately eight out of 10 respondents reported their organizations made existing facilities accessible to employees with disabilities and have been flexible in the application of their HR policies. In addition, approximately two out of three respondents' organizations restructured jobs or modified work hours, made parking or transportation accommodations, and provided written job instructions to their employees with disabilities. Of the accommodations listed in the survey, respondents' employers were least likely to have acquired or modified examination or training materials for people with disabilities, provided qualified readers or interpreters, or changed supervisory methods. When asked who holds responsibility for making the final decision regarding the provision of an accommodation, 28 percent of respondents indicated that solely their HR staff assumes the role, and 10 percent said the HR staff along with another individual makes such decisions jointly. Seventeen percent of respondents said no single party makes such decisions at their organizations. Some organizations leave such decisions to non-HR managers or directors (18 percent), the president or CEO (7 percent), or the immediate supervisor of the employee requesting the accommodation (5 percent). Employers Find Making Accommodations in the Employment Process Easy According to survey results, the majority of employers have made changes to their existing recruitment, pre-employment screening, testing, and orientation procedures to comply with the ADA. For example, approximately eight out of 10 respondents reported that their organizations have changed the questions they ask during interviews, make interview locations accessible to people with disabilities, and make restrooms accessible to people with disabilities. In addition, 76 percent of respondents' organizations have made new employee orientation and recruiting locations accessible to people with disabilities. Respondents were asked about the level of difficulty of making each of these changes. The changes that employers found most difficult include making information accessible for people with visual or learning impairments (37 percent) and making information accessible for hearing impaired people (26 percent). Less Familiar with Accommodations for Visual and Hearing Impairments Respondents were presented with a number of ADA compliance considerations in the applicant interview process and asked how familiar their organizations' interview staff is with each of these areas (see Figure 1). Nearly nine out of 10 respondents indicated that their interview staff is either familiar or very familiar with asking applicants about their abilities to perform specific job tasks rather than about any disabilities they may have. They reported being least familiar with interview considerations pertaining to people with visual or auditory impairments. More than half of the respondents reported that their interview staff is either unfamiliar or very unfamiliar with using a teletypewriter or relay service to set up interviews. In addition, approximately four out of 10 respondents reported unfamiliarity with accessing sign language interpreters, using a reader to assist a person with a learning disability or vision impairment, and adapting print materials used in interviews to large print, diskette, or Braille. In response to this apparent need for further information for HR professionals about how to accommodate people with visual and hearing impairments, Cornell University has designed a web site with relevant information located at http://www.ilr.cornell. edu/ped/accessforall. FIGURE 1 Recruitment, Pre-Employment Screening, Testing and Orientation In this table, columns follow each other in this order: Applicant Interviewing Issues: Percent saying Familiar or Very Familiar with Applicant Interviewing Issues Framing questions about job tasks: 88% Restrictions on obtaining med info: 75% Restrictions on medical issues: 85% When to ask about job tasks: 83% Accessing sign lang. interpreters: 32% Using TTY to set up interviews: 22% Using a reader: 30% Adapting print material: 28% Know to test for illegal drugs: 70% Remaining Barriers and Ways to Address Them SHRM members surveyed were presented with seven possible barriers to the employment and advancement of people with disabilities. Interestingly, the barriers dealing with increased costs of training, additional supervision and accommodations were identified as barriers by fewer respondents than were the other choices. A notable percentage of respondents reported that people with disabilities do have other obstacles to overcome in order to advance themselves in the workforce. The obstacles identified were in some cases similar to those of applicants for jobs without disabilities. For example, approximately half of the survey respondents see lack of related experience as a barrier for people with disabilities, and 40 percent of respondents felt similarly about the lack of requisite skills and training. These two hurdles, however, are limitations to employment and advancement for the majority of workers, not just those with disabilities. Respondents also reported that supervisors' knowledge of which accommodation to make (31 percent) can impede the progress of people with disabilities, as can the attitudes and stereotypes of supervisors and co-workers (22 percent) about people with disabilities. Not only were respondents asked to identify possible employment and advancement barriers, they also were asked to rate the effectiveness of six listed means of reducing such barriers. Visible top management commitment was cited as the most effective way to reduce employment and advancement barriers, according to 82 percent of respondents. Staff training (63 percent), mentoring (60 percent) and providing on-site consultation or technical assistance (59 percent) also were noted as highly effective methods of minimizing employment and advancement hurdles for people with disabilities. In addition, four out of 10 respondents (41 percent) indicated that providing short-term outside assistance with job supervision is an effective method of reducing barriers. One out of four respondents (25 percent) thought providing employer tax incentives to employ, accommodate, or train people with disabilities effectively reduced barriers. Changing Attitudes a Continuing Issue To help overcome barriers to the employment and advancement faced by people with disabilities, the majority of employers made modifications to organizational policies and practices. For example, nearly nine out of 10 respondents reported that their organizations improved co-worker or supervisor attitudes towards employees with disabilities, and ensured equal pay and benefits for employees with disabilities. Eighty-four percent of respondents' organizations created flexibility within their performance management systems, and 81 percent modified their return to work or transitional employment policies. In addition, approximately three out of four respondents' organizations adjusted policies regarding medical questions and medical examinations of employees and changed their leave policies. The difficulty of making these changes was also rated. The most difficult change to make was "coworker or supervisor attitudes towards employees with disabilities" with nearly a third (32%) of respondents rating it difficult or very difficult. The survey asked respondents which ADA training topics on which they would like further information. It is worthy to note that of the 12 topics listed, accommodations for persons with mental health problems was the one about which the most respondents desired to know more. Mental health issues may be another area where attitudes and stereotypes complicate the issue at hand. The Tool Box in this article provides a variety of print and web-based resources for further information on accommodations for persons with mental health disabilities. Next Steps With the U.S. labor force both shrinking and aging, and the increasing need for skilled labor in certain industries, it is timely to explore effective recruitment and workplace integration of employees with disabilities. Knowledge of workplace accommodations not only enables HR professionals to be able to respond to the needs of applicants and workers with disabilities, but also to the needs of an aging workforce with increasing orthopedic, vision, and hearing-related issues. Integrating disability issues into diversity training can also assist in contributing toward minimizing remaining attitudinal issues toward people with disabilities. HR professionals can play a pivotal role in heightening the likelihood of success in the accommodation and integration process for persons with disabilities in your workplaces. Susanne Bruyere (Ph.D., SPHR) is currently the Director of the Program on Employment and Disability in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations Extension Division at Cornell University. The author would like to acknowledge the significant contribution in the preparation of this article of Bill Erickson, Research Specialist and Sara Van Looy, Research Assistant of the Cornell Program on Employment and Disability. FIGURE 2 Opportunities for Promotion/Training In this table, columns follow each other in this order: Barriers to Employment: Percent Reporting Barriers to Employment or Advancement for Persons with Disabilities. Cost of accomodation: 16% Cost of training: 10% Cost of supervision: 12% Attitudes/stereotypes: 22% Supervisor knowledge/accom. to make: 31% Lack of requisite skills/training: 39% Lack of related experience: 51% Diversity Tool Box HR Practices and the ADA Program on Employment and Disability School of Industrial and Labor Relations Cornell University 101 ILR Extension Ithaca, NY 14853 (607)255-7727 www.ilr.cornell.edu/ped/ Accommodating workers with mental health disabilities The National Research and Training Center (NRTC) on Psychiatric Disability http://www.psych.uic.edu/uicnrtc/ University of Illinois at Chicago 104 South Michigan Ave, Suite 900 Chicago, IL USA 60603 312.422.8180 312.422.0740/FAX 312.422.0706/TDD The National Research and Training Center (NRTC) on Psychiatric Disability is a five-year program of research, training, technical assistance, and dissemination activities designed to result in enhanced service delivery and increased knowledge about psychiatric disability, rehabilitation, and peer support. Matrix Research Institute http://www.matrixresearch.org/ 100 N. 17th Street Robert Morris Building, 10th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103 Voice: 215-569-2240 FAX: 215-569-2806 TDD: 215-569-8098 The mission of Matrix Research Institute is to create and apply knowledge through research and evaluation, training, dissemination, demonstration of innovative practices and consultation/technical assistance in order to improve the personal, social and economic liberty of persons with disabilities. Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation http://www.bu.edu/sarpsych/ Boston University 940 Commonwealth Avenue West Boston, MA 02215 Phone: 617/353-3549 Fax: 617/353-7700 TTY: 617/353-7701 The Center is a Research, Training, and Service organization dedicated to improving the lives of persons who have psychiatric disabilities