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A World In Which People With Disabilities Have Unlimited Employment Opportunities

Office of Disability Employment Policy

Information for Employers

As an employer, I am not familiar with disability issues. Where do I start?

You are in the right place! By browsing the Business Focus and Publications pages on this site you can find information and links to other sources about people with disabilities, employment issues, marketing to and communicating with people with disabilities, and more. For comprehensive information about government resources and services for people with disabilities, go to Disability.gov.

Where can I find qualified applicants with disabilities?

The Employer Assistance and Resource Network (EARN), a service for employers sponsored by the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), helps employers find qualified applicants with disabilities. You may contact EARN at its Web site or by calling 866-EARN NOW (866-327-6669).
Many colleges and universities have coordinators of services for students with disabilities who can be helpful in recruitment and in accessing accommodations. Employers may also be able to locate qualified applicants with disabilities by contacting their local vocational rehabilitation (VR) offices or organizations representing people who have specific disabilities.

In addition ODEP’s website also offers Recruiting Young People with Disabilities: A Hiring Strategy with Bottom Line Benefits to assist you in recruiting young people with disabilities

For a list of VR offices by state, visit the Searchable Online Accommodation Resource (SOAR).

Comprehensive information for employers about recruiting and hiring qualified applicants with disabilities is available in the Business Focus section of ODEP's Web site.

Where can I get in contact with other employers who have had successful experiences hiring people with disabilities?

The US Business Leadership Network (USBLN) is the national business organization currently representing BLN chapters in 32 states and more than 5,000 employers using a “business to business” strategy to promote the business imperative of including people with disabilities in the workforce. The BLNs provide an opportunity for employers to identify and share best practices on the employment of people with disabilities. The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) embraces the concept of business-to-business mentoring to help create job opportunities for people with disabilities. Other sources for information about successful employment practices are committees, councils, or commissions on employment of people with disabilities in each state. Contact information for your state can be found on the State Liaisons section of the ODEP Web site.

What are my obligations when interviewing people with disabilities?

Different laws protect individuals with disabilities during the interviewing process. Employers can not ask the employee about their disability. For example, employers can not ask, "How will your disability affect this job?" However, employers can ask, "This job requires you to input information into a computer using Excel. Can you tell me about your experience in this area?" Employers have an obligation to make reasonable accommodations to enable applicants with disabilities to participate in the interview process. Accommodations for interviews may include: an accessible interview location for people with mobility impairments, a sign language interpreter for a person who is deaf, a reader for a person who is blind, and modified testing for a person with a learning disability. For more information about making job interviews accessible, see A Technical Assistance Manual on the Employment Provisions (Title I) of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, January 1992. JAN can also be reached at 800-526-7234 (voice) and 877-781-9403 (TTY).

What can our company do to enhance our services to customers with disabilities?

The Office of Disability Employment Policy Publications Web page has a fact sheet that can assist businesses serve customers with disabilities.
Effective Interaction: Communicating With and About People with Disabilities in the Workplace

What are my obligations as an employer under the Americans with Disabilities Act?

Employers with 15 or more employees are prohibited under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) from discriminating against qualified applicants or employees with disabilities. Information about employer obligations under the ADA can be obtained from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 800-669-4000 (voice), or 800-669-6820 (TTY). Information can also be obtained from the federally sponsored Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs) in your area at 800-949-4232.

Employers should also determine obligations they may have under state law.

Where can I get information about making workplace accommodations?

The Job Accommodation Network (JAN), sponsored by the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), provides employers, employees and others information about appropriate accommodations for specific individuals and jobs. JAN also provides information on the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and on resources for technical assistance, funding, education, training and services related to the employment of people with disabilities. JAN recently established the Searchable Online Accommodation Resource (SOAR), a Web-based database of accommodation information based on the more than 250,000 cases to which it has responded. JAN can also be reached at 800-526-7234 (voice) and 877-781-9403 (TTY).

Who pays for the accommodations?

Many employment supports are paid for by the individual workers themselves. Some employment supports are paid for by more than one source. For example, workers and employers often share the cost of health insurance.

Disability agencies or providers help individuals purchase, adapt and learn how to use many technology and transportation supports. Communities also provide some employment supports, such as accessible transportation.

Additional information on possible funding sources is available through the Job Accommodation Network: http://www.jan.wvu.edu/

Can I get financial assistance or tax breaks to purchase certain types of accommodations?

Employers may be able to offset the cost of providing certain employment supports and making their businesses accessible to persons with disabilities by taking advantage of one or more of four federal tax incentives (http://www.jan.wvu.edu/). State tax incentives may also be available.

If I hire somebody with a disability, will my medical insurance rates skyrocket?

Some employers fear that hiring a disabled person will cause further increases in company health insurance costs. The good news is that this fear is groundless. Disability is not necessarily synonymous with ill health. Many disabilities have no health effects other than that which caused the disability. Someone who uses a wheelchair may have no other health care concerns than whatever caused the paralysis or other condition that necessitated the wheelchair. That cause may very likely have no ongoing repercussions or need further treatment.

But even if an individual with a disability really were "sicker" than others, it would likely have a minimal impact on a company's insurance premiums -- due to how insurance rates are calculated. Health insurance works on the principle that any given group will have a mix of people who range from those who never go to a doctor to those who have ongoing health care needs. The vitality of a health plan depends on the premiums of all in the pool paying for the higher medical costs of the few people with greater needs.

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	As an employer, I am not familiar with disability issues. Where do I start?
	You are in the right place! By browsing the Business Focus and Publications pages on this site you can find information and links to other sources about people with disabilities, employment issues, marketing to and communicating with people with disabilities, and more. For comprehensive information about government resources and services for people with disabilities, go to Disability.gov.
	Where can I find qualified applicants with disabilities?
	The Employer Assistance and Resource Network (EARN), a service for employers sponsored by the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), helps employers find qualified applicants with disabilities. You may contact EARN at its Web site or by calling 866-EARN NOW (866-327-6669). Many colleges and universities have coordinators of services for students with disabilities who can be helpful in recruitment and in accessing accommodations. Employers may also be able to locate qualified applicants with disabilities by contacting their local vocational rehabilitation (VR) offices or organizations representing people who have specific disabilities. In addition ODEP’s website also offers Recruiting Young People with Disabilities: A Hiring Strategy with Bottom Line Benefits to assist you in recruiting young people with disabilities For a list of VR offices by state, visit the Searchable Online Accommodation Resource (SOAR). Comprehensive information for employers about recruiting and hiring qualified applicants with disabilities is available in the Business Focus section of ODEP's Web site.
	Where can I get in contact with other employers who have had successful experiences hiring people with disabilities?
	The US Business Leadership Network (USBLN) is the national business organization currently representing BLN chapters in 32 states and more than 5,000 employers using a “business to business” strategy to promote the business imperative of including people with disabilities in the workforce. The BLNs provide an opportunity for employers to identify and share best practices on the employment of people with disabilities. The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) embraces the concept of business-to-business mentoring to help create job opportunities for people with disabilities. Other sources for information about successful employment practices are committees, councils, or commissions on employment of people with disabilities in each state. Contact information for your state can be found on the State Liaisons section of the ODEP Web site.
	What are my obligations when interviewing people with disabilities?
	Different laws protect individuals with disabilities during the interviewing process. Employers can not ask the employee about their disability. For example, employers can not ask, "How will your disability affect this job?" However, employers can ask, "This job requires you to input information into a computer using Excel. Can you tell me about your experience in this area?" Employers have an obligation to make reasonable accommodations to enable applicants with disabilities to participate in the interview process. Accommodations for interviews may include: an accessible interview location for people with mobility impairments, a sign language interpreter for a person who is deaf, a reader for a person who is blind, and modified testing for a person with a learning disability. For more information about making job interviews accessible, see A Technical Assistance Manual on the Employment Provisions (Title I) of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, January 1992. JAN can also be reached at 800-526-7234 (voice) and 877-781-9403 (TTY).
	What can our company do to enhance our services to customers with disabilities?
	The Office of Disability Employment Policy Publications Web page has a fact sheet that can assist businesses serve customers with disabilities. Effective Interaction: Communicating With and About People with Disabilities in the Workplace
	What are my obligations as an employer under the Americans with Disabilities Act?
	Employers with 15 or more employees are prohibited under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) from discriminating against qualified applicants or employees with disabilities. Information about employer obligations under the ADA can be obtained from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 800-669-4000 (voice), or 800-669-6820 (TTY). Information can also be obtained from the federally sponsored Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs) in your area at 800-949-4232. Employers should also determine obligations they may have under state law.
	Where can I get information about making workplace accommodations?
	The Job Accommodation Network (JAN), sponsored by the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), provides employers, employees and others information about appropriate accommodations for specific individuals and jobs. JAN also provides information on the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and on resources for technical assistance, funding, education, training and services related to the employment of people with disabilities. JAN recently established the Searchable Online Accommodation Resource (SOAR), a Web-based database of accommodation information based on the more than 250,000 cases to which it has responded. JAN can also be reached at 800-526-7234 (voice) and 877-781-9403 (TTY).
	Who pays for the accommodations?
	Many employment supports are paid for by the individual workers themselves. Some employment supports are paid for by more than one source. For example, workers and employers often share the cost of health insurance. Disability agencies or providers help individuals purchase, adapt and learn how to use many technology and transportation supports. Communities also provide some employment supports, such as accessible transportation. Additional information on possible funding sources is available through the Job Accommodation Network: http://www.jan.wvu.edu/
	Can I get financial assistance or tax breaks to purchase certain types of accommodations?
	Employers may be able to offset the cost of providing certain employment supports and making their businesses accessible to persons with disabilities by taking advantage of one or more of four federal tax incentives (http://www.jan.wvu.edu/). State tax incentives may also be available.
	If I hire somebody with a disability, will my medical insurance rates skyrocket?
	Some employers fear that hiring a disabled person will cause further increases in company health insurance costs. The good news is that this fear is groundless. Disability is not necessarily synonymous with ill health. Many disabilities have no health effects other than that which caused the disability. Someone who uses a wheelchair may have no other health care concerns than whatever caused the paralysis or other condition that necessitated the wheelchair. That cause may very likely have no ongoing repercussions or need further treatment. But even if an individual with a disability really were "sicker" than others, it would likely have a minimal impact on a company's insurance premiums -- due to how insurance rates are calculated. Health insurance works on the principle that any given group will have a mix of people who range from those who never go to a doctor to those who have ongoing health care needs. The vitality of a health plan depends on the premiums of all in the pool paying for the higher medical costs of the few people with greater needs.