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Hiring qualified candidates with disabilities for jobs is the right thing to do – ethically, legally, and morally.
There has been increased attention and progress in the rights of workers with disabilities, and yet many still face significant barriers when it comes to employment. These barriers include lower salaries, discrimination, limited opportunities for promotions, and more.
By developing workplaces with accessibility in mind, companies can not only act ethically but also build a smarter, more resilient workforce.
But what are the barriers faced by people with disabilities in securing employment today? What are the key laws designed to protect their rights, and how as an employer, you can remove those barriers and create an inclusive work environment with equal opportunities for all?
Having more than 9 years of experience in website and document accessibility, I have witnessed the struggles people with disabilities face once they deal with inaccessibility while searching and applying for jobs. In this article, I’ll answer the questions above and give you guidance on how you can remove hiring barriers in your organization
Several significant U.S. laws are in place to assist all employees with disabilities. These laws require all companies and organizations to prevent discrimination against people with disabilities throughout all stages of employment, including hiring, advancement, and termination.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces laws protecting people with disabilities from discrimination in the workplace. The Commission investigates and resolves cases of discrimination against workers with disabilities. It also puts huge effort into preventing discrimination through different programs like education, outreach, and technical assistance.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) finds illegal discrimination against employees with disabilities, including refusing to hire a professional based on disability or not providing the necessary accommodation to people with disabilities.
Private businesses, public organizations, government institutions, educational organizations, employment agencies, and other organizations with more than 15 employees have to follow the principles of the ADA.
The Rehabilitation Act
The Rehabilitation Act is another notable law prohibiting discrimination based on disability and authorizing funding for disability-related activities. According to the law, each program that receives federal funding must provide equal employment opportunities to everyone regardless of their disability.
The Act requires federal agencies to avoid discriminating against qualified employees with disabilities in all aspects of employment.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is an important federal law that sets minimum wage, labor standards for children, overtime payment, and other employment regulations for private companies as well as government organizations
The Act prohibits any discrimination against people with disabilities and ensures equal opportunities for workers with disabilities at all stages of employment.
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) is aimed at reinforcing the workforce system and helping everyone get a high-quality job without any discrimination or other barriers. Additionally, WIOA provides funding for education, training, and other job-related services to people with disabilities.
The FSLA 14(c) Certificate
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Section 14(c) mandates employers to pay wages of at least the federal minimum (over $7 an hour) to people with any type of disability that can affect their ability to work. This wage certificate is called the 14(c) certificate which has been a subject of debate not once.
Overall the Certificate encourages the employment of people with significant disabilities.
Barriers to employment for people with disabilities
The recent data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows a positive increase in the employment of people with disabilities. In 2023, over 22% of people with disabilities in the U.S. were employed, marking a record high since 2008.
However, the report also mentions that there are still major barriers to hiring people with disabilities.
Listed below are the most significant barriers faced by employees with disabilities.
Accessibility
Despite the increasing awareness of the importance of accessibility and the presence of notable laws, people with disabilities continue to meet barriers in both physical and digital accessibility.
Many workplaces still lack the necessary accommodations for people with disabilities including elevators, accessible restrooms, ergonomic working conditions, and more.
The lack of digital accessibility is another key aspect to consider. Most companies lack screen readers and other assistive technology vital for employees with disabilities.
According to GoodTime’s Hiring Insights Report, in 2023, there has been a shift from a fully in-office workplace to mostly in-office, making remote and hybrid work more common. However, despite this, many tools necessary for remote work don’t meet the needs of people with disabilities completely. For example, many video conferencing tools don’t have captioning or accessible remote desktop software.
Lack of reasonable accommodations
Lack of the necessary and reasonable accommodations is another notable barrier to the employment of people with disabilities.
Even with numerous acts and laws to promote inclusivity, many workplaces still do not offer the necessary accommodations and support for people with disabilities. This way they cannot participate in job interviews and perform their job duties. This lack of support not only restricts job opportunities for people with disabilities but also prevents employers from accessing a diverse and skilled workforce.
Discriminatory practices
Despite the numerous laws against discrimination and the increasing awareness of the rights of people with disabilities, these people still face discriminatory practices in the workplace.
They often experience exclusion from the decision-making process, non-participation in most workplace activities, and more.
Overall, discrimination practices lead to low employment rates among people with disabilities as well as affect the mental and physical health of people with disabilities.
Limited job opportunities
Often people with disabilities don’t have the opportunity to be considered for high-paying and more promising job positions. They are restricted to low-skilled or part-time jobs.
The lack of accessibility to learning programs and training on their turn limits the possibilities of career advancement for people with disabilities.
Concerns about losing benefits
For many people with disabilities, the desire to find a good job is often accompanied by concerts about losing benefits such as financial aid, support services, healthcare, and so on.
Many support programs have certain limits. Once people with disabilities start working for increased hours or earn more, the benefits are either reduced or completely cut off.
The fear of losing benefits often discourages people with disabilities from finding high-quality and better-paid jobs.
How to remove barriers to hiring people with disabilities
As an employer, it is important to ensure that all of your current and future employees – especially those with disabilities – can fulfill their job duties without any barriers, whether physical or digital.
Here are some key steps you can take to ensure that all of your employees feel supported and appreciated while working for your business.’
Understand different needs
Each employee with any form of disability has unique needs related to their physical, mental, and cognitive health condition. As an employer, it is important to consider these different needs first.
Most successful companies put inclusivity first and support employees with diverse needs to succeed in their roles. For example, Salesforce, a popular CRM platform, is known for its focus on employees with disabilities through its “Abilityforce” program.
This and other similar initiatives create an inclusive environment where all employees, regardless of visible or invisible disabilities, feel valued and empowered.
Write accessible job descriptions
Clear and accessible job descriptions ensure that everyone understands your job requirements correctly.
An accessible job description should be written with inclusivity in mind making it clear to the applicant that the company welcomes everyone regardless of disabilities.
Make sure to write job descriptions in simple language without jargon or technical terms. Exclude any cultural or religious bias in the job descriptions.
It is important to highlight the flexibility of the work accommodations and arrangements. This way you can ensure that candidates with disabilities feel considered and supported.
Provide an accessible job application process
The job application process should also be held following the most recent version of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
If you use an online job application platform, make sure it complies with accessibility guidelines.
Once you use your company’s website for the job application process, ensure it is user-friendly, compatible with screen readers and other assistive technology, has accessible web forms, and can be navigated using only a keyboard.
It is important to ensure that all the necessary documents for the job application process on your website or platform meet accessibility standards. To ensure everything is in order, consider accessibility remediation of documents to make sure all documents meet the required accessibility guidelines. It is desirable to have all the documents in an accessible PDF, Microsoft Word, or web-based format.
Design accessible interviews and assessments
The next important step in the hiring process is conducting interviews and assessing candidates.
To begin, inform the candidate about the date, time, and format in advance. You can also offer the candidate the option to choose the interview format, whether it be a video call, phone call, or in-person meeting. It’s also helpful to offer rescheduling for candidates. The 2024 Hiring Insights Report reveals that 54% of recruiting teams prioritize offering efficient interview scheduling options to candidates to save their time.
If the job interview will be conducted in person, select a location that is easily accessible and equipped with necessary accommodations for people with disabilities. For online interviews, ensure you have assistive devices available upon request by the candidate.
Assess them based on their skills, experience, and behavior.
Provide flexible work arrangements
Employees with disabilities can ask for flexible work arrangements. These arrangements can include reducing standard working hours, remote work opportunities, and/or moving start and end times of the work.
As an employer, you need to provide all employees with disabilities with the necessary work arrangement flexibility to create a supportive and inclusive work environment.
Provide training to all staff
Educating all the staff about disability awareness, legal requirements, and best practices for inclusion will help you create a workplace culture that values diversity and supports every employee.
As an employer, you should offer training sessions about all disability forms including physical, sensory, cognitive, and mental health conditions.
Provide equal opportunities for career growth
Provide equal career growth opportunities for all employees ensuring that all the processes are clear and transparent. As a first step, you need to communicate the promotion criteria and procedures to all the employees making it clear that people with any form of disability will be provided with equal opportunities.
Make sure to have role models such as a leadership team consisting of people with disabilities to demonstrate the willingness to be inclusive.
Be open to communication
The lack of open and effective communication is a common barrier employees with disabilities meet. To avoid this, you need to create a working environment where open and direct communication is encouraged.
To create an inclusive workplace, you need to encourage employees to freely share their feedback, concerns, and thoughts without worrying about criticism. Holding face-to-face meetings and conducting polls can help discover the challenges and issues that employees with disabilities face in their work environment.
Prioritize accessible hiring
The advancement in technology has greatly increased opportunities for people with disabilities to be employed. A vivid example of this is Stephen Hawking, who was able to make significant scientific advancements through the use of assistive technology. By involving people with disabilities in your company’s hiring practices, you are making a valuable investment that will result in hiring a more diverse workforce, with a wider range of talents, and improved accessibility and inclusivity.
While it may not always be possible to remove all barriers for individuals with disabilities during the hiring and working process, your efforts to accommodate them will help promote equal access and benefit both these people and the company.
