William Erickson

The Impact of Business Size on Employer ADA Response

More than 10 years have passed since the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) came into effect for employers of 15 or more employees. Americans with disabilities continue to be more unemployed and underemployed than their nondisabled peers. Small businesses, with fewer than 500 employees, continue to be the most rapidly growing part of our national economy and therefore a potential source of employment for American job seekers with disabilities. A Cornell University survey of human resource professionals examined how employers of different sizes are complying with the ADA. The authors point to needed ADA and accommodation services that rehabilitation counselors can provide to employers.

Comparative Study of Workplace Policy and Practices Contributing to Disability Nondiscrimination

Objective: To assess the impact of disability nondiscrimination legislation on employer practices in the United States and the United Kingdom. Study Design: U.S. and U.K. human resource professionals were surveyed about their experience with implementation of the legislation. Results: Both U.S. and U.K. employers are responding to their respective legislation by making accommodations-adjustments needed by applicants and employees with disabilities. Conclusions: Rehabilitation psychologists and other health care professionals working with people with disabilities must understand employee rights and employer responsibilities under this legislation, know where employers may have difficulty in responding to an accommodation request, and be familiar with the existing workplace resources and processes that can support an effective response to such requests. People with disabilities are often underemployed or unemployed, compared with their nondisabled peers—and approximately one in six people has a disability. In the 1990s, many world economies were stronger than they had been for decades. Unfortunately, the unemployment rate of persons with disabilities did not improve concurrently (Wehman, 1998), and in many countries it continues to be disproportionate to that of the general population. In the United States, for example, 34% of men and 33% of women with disabilities were employed in 1999, compared with 95% of men and 82% of women without disabilities (Burkhauser, Daly, Houtenville, & Nargis, 2001). This low employment rate represents a loss of income and social and economic participation for people with disabilities, as well as a significant loss of willing

The Employment Environment Employer Perspectives, Policies, and Practices Regarding the Employment of Persons With Disabilities

Employers’ characteristics and their policies and practices are workplace environmental factors with important implications for the hiring and retention of employees with disabilities. To explore these factors, a survey was conducted by Cornell University in 2011 focusing on employer policies and practices related to the employment of people with disabilities. The private employer membership of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) was randomly sampled across small, medium, and large employers. In all, 675 SHRM members completed the survey and provided information regarding organizational characteristics; disability-related practices and policies regarding recruitment and hiring, training, accessibility and accommodation, retention and advancement; collection of metrics; and their perception of barriers to the employment and advancement of people with disabilities. Ratings of effectiveness of these practices/policies are examined, as well as the number of policies and practices implemented by organizational size and industry. Comparisons of employer views on employment barriers for persons with disabilities to a previous 1998 Cornell/SHRM study are made.

HR’s Role in Managing Disability in the Workplace

Susanne M. Bruyere, Ph.D., SPHR, is the director of the Program on Employment and Disability at Cornell University. She is currently funded by the U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDR) as principal investigator of a four-year research and demonstration project in collaboration with the Society for Human Resource Management. She may be reached via E-mail at smb23@cornell.edu. William A. Erickson is a research specialist with the Program on Employment and Disability in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations Extension Division at Cornell University. His previous research experience includes a workers’ compensation managed-care pilot project in New York State. Sara VanLooy is a research and administrative assistant with the Program on Employment and disability at Cornell University in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations—Extension Division.

The Accessibility and Usability of College Websites: Is your Website Presenting Barriers to Potential Students?

Thirty community college websites were evaluated for compliance with federal web accessibility standards found in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d). Two typical sites were tested for usability by individuals with visual impairments, individuals with reading-related learning disabilities (LD), and a control group of individuals without disabilities. Ten additional sites were selected for Simulated Target Group usability testing. Testing revealed that less than 1% of pages evaluated met Section 508 web accessibility standards. Over half of the users found the online admissions application process frustrating, and less than a third of all users could complete the online application without assistance. The Simulated Target Group usability testing encountered similar usability issues across the additional 10 community college websites examined. All four evaluation techniques found that community college websites fared poorly in both accessibility and usability. However, many of the issues could be addressed without significant effort.

Web Accessibility Policies and Practices at American Community Colleges.

Community colleges are increasingly using the Internet for admissions and financial aid applications. The use of online processes has serious implications for students with disabilities, such as visual and learning problems, who may encounter difficulties with the Web sites if they are not designed in an accessible and usable way. A survey of student services leaders at community colleges across the country was conducted to evaluate the use of the Web for a variety of student processes. Also investigated was the awareness of issues related to Web accessibility for students with disabilities. Nearly 700 colleges responded, representing a 79% response rate. While 90% offered online access to course catalogs, class schedules, and online courses, only half said that their school had requirements for accessible Web content. These results indicate that significantly more work needs to be done to inform community college administrators and Web developers about these issues.

Disability-Inclusive Employer Practices and Hiring of Individuals with Disabilities.

Purpose: To determine what disability-inclusive policies and practices employers have in place and examine the relationship between these practices and the actual recruitment and hiring of persons with disabilities. Method: A survey 675 of human resources professionals who were members of the Society for Human Resource Management. Results: After controlling for organizational characteristics, 9 of the 10 specific recruitment and hiring practices/policies examined in this study were found to significantly increase the likelihood of hiring individuals with disabilities. Conclusions: The findings inform rehabilitation professionals who interface regularly with businesses regarding good practices for finding and hiring qualified candidates.

Disability, Income, and Rural Poverty

The economic divide across metro and nonmetro areas in the USA is increasingly wide and high poverty persists. Fewer employment opportunities, lower employment rates, and level of educational attainment, as well as type of disability, impact further the rate of poverty among persons with disabilities in rural areas. Overwhelmingly, the unique circumstances in rural communities tend to hinder opportunities to improve income and decrease poverty. To that end, this chapter delineates an understanding of the interplay of those factors that disadvantage persons with disabilities.

Rehabilitation-Related Research on Disability and Employer Practices Using Individual-Based National and Administrative Data Sets.

Objective: It is useful to examine workplace factors influencing employment outcomes of individuals with disabilities and the interplay of disability, employment-related, and employer characteristics to inform rehabilitation practice. Design: A number of large national survey and administrative data sets provide information on employers and can inform this inquiry. Results: Provides an overview of 9 national survey and administrative data sets that can be used to investigate the impact of employer practices on employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities. Conclusions: Provides specific examples of disability and employment research, which can be performed with these data sets and implications for rehabilitation policy, practice, and research.

Complex Survey Questions and the Impact of Enumeration Procedures: Census/American Community Survey Disability Questions

This paper explores challenges relating to the identification of the population with disabilities,focusing on Census Bureau efforts using the 2000 Decennial Census Long-Form (Census 2000) and 2000-2005 American Community Survey (ACS). In particular, the analyses explore the impact of survey methods on responses to the work limitation (i.e., employment disability) question in these two Census products. Building on the research of Stern (2003) and Stern and Brault (2005), we look for further evidence of misreporting of an employment disability by specific sub-populations using the participation in the Supplemental Security Income program as an exogenous employment disability status indicator along with a subset of ACS disability questions. We expand upon these earlier studies by examining both false-positive and falsenegative reports of employment disability by implementing logit estimations to examine the role of respondent/enumerator error on the accuracy of the employment disability response. In this manner, we enhance our understanding of Census 2000 and ACS responses to employment disability questions through an exploration of the role of enumeration procedures in two types of misclassifications, as well as by evaluating existing data and estimates to uncover characteristics that might make an individual more likely to misreport an employment disability.