By MoneyGeek Team on 11/2/2021
Because of the undeserved stigma attached to disabled workers, individuals with disabilities often face incredible odds when searching for employment. This is a sad truth, but one that can be overcome if you know your rights.
This guide was created to introduce disabled workers and job-seekers to the rights afforded to them by federal and state governments. In addition, we offer useful tips for finding a job, advice on staying gainfully employed, and guidance that can help you talk with an existing employer about making reasonable accommodation for you.
Having any kind of disability does not preclude you from earning a living and supporting your family, nor should it. However, you may need to try harder than others to find employment that will adequately use your skillset without testing your disability or causing you undue harm.
Keep reading below to learn more about your rights and responsibilities as a disabled worker, and best practices for moving forward. Additionally, find disability resources to help you further your understanding on specific topics, such as student information, and home and auto modifications, home loans, refinancing, car insurance, and in-depth student assistance, scholarships, and grants.
What the ADA and Other Laws Mean to Workers
When anyone mentions the “ADA” in the context of disabled worker’s rights, they are speaking of The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which prohibits the discrimination of persons with disabilities seeking employment while ensuring they have equal opportunity.
The ADA was created based on the basic principle that “physical or mental disabilities in no way diminish a person’s right to fully participate in all aspects of society,” with the goal of providing a “clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities.”
Although the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is long and cumbersome to read in its entirety, its main components can be summarized as follows:
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT AT A GLANCE
- The ADA prohibits discrimination against workers with disabilities.
- The ADA ensures equal opportunities for persons and workers with disabilities in employment, State and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation.
- The ADA mandates the establishment of TDD/telephone relay services.
- The ADA covers employers with 15 or more employees, including State and local governments, employment agencies, and labor organizations.
- An employer who must follow ADA rules is generally required to make reasonable accommodation for a qualified applicant as long as it does not pose an “undue hardship” on their business or its ability to operate.
- An employer may not be required to make a reasonable accommodation if it would require significant difficulty or expense, or it if requires them to lower quality or production standards.
- The ADA makes it unlawful to retaliate against an individual who opposes discrimination against workers with a disability.
- Based on details found in Title I of the ADA, employers cannot inquire about the existence, nature, or severity of an employee’s disability, but they can ask about their ability to perform the job in question. Employers cannot ask for a medical examination unless the same examination is required for all employees, disabled or not.
- Employers are required to keep medical records confidential. This rue stands where a medical record notes information on the employee’s disability or health conditions or not.
What Is Reasonable Accommodation?
Reasonable accommodation is an upgrade or exception an employer makes in order to help a worker with a disability feel more comfortable or perform better on the job. This can include making existing facilities accessible and usable by persons with disabilities, modifying work schedules to accommodate special requests, or acquiring and modifying equipment, materials, and policies to aid the employment of a worker with a disability.
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) was created to serve as an upgrade to the outdated Workforce Investment Act, which has been due for reauthorization since 2003.
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), over 60% of U.S. workers lack the literacy skills needed to perform basic job requirements. Furthermore, the United States Senate has previously reported an alarming shortage of workers with postsecondary education this decade.
As the U.S. Senate also notes, individuals with disabilities have the highest rate of unemployment of any group, with more than two-thirds not participating in the workforce at all. The WIOA hopes to change that by:
- Streamlining individual programs for disadvantaged workers into a single all-encompassing offering.
- Supporting access to workforce development through customized training, pay for performance, and sector and pathway strategies
- Boosting and improving existing workforce development programs and aligning them with education initiatives
- Ensuring that individuals with disabilities receive the training necessary to thrive in the workplace
- Empowering local boards and governments to tailor services and set standards based on their regional employment training needs
With the WIOA in place, government sources hope to see a speedier and more efficient system that will improve education and outreach to individuals with disabilities while connecting them with applicable on-the-job and work training.
By implementing this strategy, drafters of the WIOA hope to prepare workers for the realities of the 21st-century economy while helping businesses find the skilled employees they need to remain fully operational.
How to Discuss Reasonable Accommodation With Your Employer
According to the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, an individual with a disability is a person who:
- Has a physical or mental impairment that may limit their activities
- Has a record or history of such impairment
- Is regarded as having such an impairment
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