Myths & Facts

Myths & the Real Facts for Employers

Myth 1: Hiring employees with disabilities increases workers compensation insurance rates.

Fact: Insurance rates are based solely on the relative hazards of the operation and the organization’s accident experience, not on whether workers have disabilities.

Myth 2: Providing accommodations for people with disabilities is expensive.

Fact: The majority of workers with disabilities do not need accommodations to perform their jobs, and for those who do, the cost is usually minimal. In fact, two-thirds of accommodations cost less than $500, with many costing nothing at all1. And available tax incentives make it even easier for businesses to cover accessibility costs.
¹Job Accommodation Network (JAN), a service of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy

Myth 3: The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) forces employers to hire unqualified individuals with disabilities.

Fact: Unqualified candidates are not protected under the ADA. To be protected from discrimination in hiring, an individual must first meet all requirements for a job and be able to perform its essential functions with or without reasonable accommodations.

Myth 4: Employees with disabilities have a higher absentee rate than employees without disabilities.

Fact: Studies by firms such as DuPont show that employees with disabilities are not absent any more than employees without disabilities.

Myth 5: Under the ADA, an employer cannot fire an employee who has a disability.

Fact: Employers can fire workers with disabilities under three conditions:
1. The termination is unrelated to the disability or
2. The employee does not meet legitimate requirements for the job, such as performance or production standards, with or without a reasonable accommodation or
3. Because of the employee’s disability, he or she poses a direct threat to health or safety in the workplace.
(Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy) http://www.thinkbeyondthelabel.com/Learning-Tools/5Myths-and-RealFacts.aspx)

People with disabilities are trained

People with disabilities work or are trained to work in all kinds of professions. Of the 120 million employed Americans, 16 million of them have a disability. They are executives, machines operators, managers, sales workers, mechanics, teachers, accountants, and health care workers. (Americans With Disabilities: West Virginia University, McNeil, 1993)
72% of working-age people with disabilities have high school diplomas or a higher education. Yet, of those with a college degree, 55% are unemployed, compared to 14% of college-educated people without disabilities. (National Organization on Disability, Harris Poll of Americans with Disabilities, 2000)

People with disabilities want to work

Most people with disabilities want to work. 2 out of 3 people with disabilities who are unemployed (67%) say they would prefer to be working. Of those people with disabilities who say they are able to work, 56 percent are working, and the rest are looking. (N.O.H, Harris, 2000)
A strong commitment exhibited by top management and a positive attitude among co-workers and supervisors are the best ways to remove employment barriers for people with disabilities, according to a Cornell University survey of human resource and equal employment opportunity personnel from the private and public sectors.(Susanne M. Bruyere, March 2000)

Employers Need & Will Need Their Skills

The U.S. job growth is projected to swell by 55 million by 2008, compared to a growth of only 20 million in workers, of whom 3.6 million will have a disability. Employers will need these 3.6 million people to fill vacant positions. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 1999)

People with Disabilities & Their Families Have Purchasing Power

One in five Americans (49 million people) has a disability. (U.S. Census Bureau, 1994) An estimated 20.3 million families or 29% of all families have at least one member with a disability. (Family Resource Supplement to the National Health Interview Survey, 1990)
Marketing research shows that families with one or more persons with disabilities are significantly more likely to do business with a disability-friendly company, and consumers, with and without disabilities, are more likely to buy from those companies. (National Family Opinion, Inc., Survey for 1996 Paralympic Games, 1994)

Employers Benefit From Hiring People With Disabilities

Washington Mutual, a financial services company, reported an 8% percent attrition rate in 1999 among people with disabilities working at its call centers, compared to an overall rate of 45 percent. Cost to recruit, train, and develop new employees was $15,000. Washington Mutual saved money by hiring more people with disabilities because they had better attendance and were more committed to their jobs. (National Organization of Disability, Craig Gray, Director of EmployAbility, 2001)
Tax incentives are in place to encourage employers to hire people with disabilities, including the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which provides a tax credit of up to $2,400 per individual hired. Small businesses also can receive a tax credit for the cost of accommodations, covering 50% of eligible expenditures up to $10,000.