Restricted Access: A Survey of Employers About People with Disabilities and Lowering Barriers to Work, was released a few weeks ago and is available online as a PDF file. A lack of physical accessibility, lack of experience on the part of disabled jobseekers, employer reluctance to hire a worker with a physical or mental disability, and discrimination are all reasons for this finding, says the report.

"When asked what the greatest barrier to employers hiring people with disabilities, nearly one-third (32%) say that the nature of their company's work is such that it cannot be effectively performed by workers with disabilities," write the authors. The report was prepared by K.A. Dixon, with Doug Kruse, Ph.D. and Carl E. Van Horn, Ph.D.

"Many employers do not provide any training to their employees regarding working with people with disabilities," they write.

From the report:

• Nearly one-fifth (17%) of employers say that lack of skills and experience on the part of the job seeker is the greatest barrier, while 15% cite employer reluctance to hire workers with disabilities.
• Less than half (40%) of employers surveyed provide training of any kind to their employees regarding working with or providing accommodations to people with disabilities. Only 34% of companies with 5-24 workers -- the small companies that are 70% of the nation's employers -- provide training to their employees in this area. More than half (52%) of larger companies employing more than 25 workers provide training. Companies that employ workers with disabilities are more likely than those that do not to say they have provided training to their workers regarding working with or providing accommodations to people with disabilities (52% and 34%, respectively).
• The vast majority (73%) of employers report their disabled workers did not require accommodation. Many (40%) employers maintain that it can be difficult or costly to provide accommodations to workers with disabilities -- particularly those that have no experience doing so. Smaller firms are more likely than larger firms to agree that it is generally difficult or costly to accommodate workers with disabilities (44% and 32%, respectively). Only 35% of firms who have in fact hired workers with disabilities agree that it is costly to accommodate them.

"Thirteen years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act that mandated greater access to the workplace for people with disabilities, disability remains a barrier to entrance to the workplace," say the report's authors. "People with disabilities are underrepresented in the labor market, despite the desire and ability to work. Restricted Access reveals that though many employers are willing to hire people with disabilities, misconceptions regarding hiring and accommodation abound."

Restricted Access is the fourteenth in the Work Trends survey series, which "polls American workers and employers about issues regarding the economy, the workforce, and the workplace, and how they view the policy choices made by lawmakers to address their concerns."

The survey and project were directed by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, and funded in part by The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Workforce Investment and Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities, which in turn is funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

Restricted Access: A Survey of Employers About People with Disabilities and Lowering Barriers to Work, by K.A. Dixon with Doug Kruse, Ph.D. and Carl E. Van Horn, Ph.D. is available online as a PDF file To download the file go to http://www.heldrich.rutgers.edu . For a copy of the report in accessible format or for more information, contact:
Herbert A. Schaffner
herberts@rci.rutgers.edu
Director of Marketing, Communications, and Publications
John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development
http://www.heldrich.rutgers.edu

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