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Americans with Disabilities Act

What is a Disability? The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines an individual with a disability as someone who:

Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities (such as walking, seeing, hearing, learning, and working); Has a history of such an impairment or; Is regarded as having such impairment.

Remember that not all disabilities are visible or readily apparent. Physical or mental conditions such as diabetes, epilepsy, low vision, and learning disabilities like dyslexia, can also present significant barriers to employment.

Accessibility Checklist

How Do I Know If My Worksite Is Accessible?

The following questions will help you determine the accessibility of your work site. Sources of additional and more detailed information are provided at the end.

Disability Employment Statistics

According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report from August, 2014, 31.8% of non disabled persons do not participate in the labor force vs. an 80.2% non participation rate for persons with disabilities. The unemployment rate for disabled job seekers is also more than twice as high. The BLS reports a September 2014 unemployment rate of 12.3% for disabled job seekers vs. 5.5% for non-disabled job seekers. Two studies offer some insight into why so many persons with disabilities are not working and what businesses are doing to employ and accommodate workers with disabilities:

Why Adults With Disabilities Have Difficulty Finding Jobs

Employer FAQs

1. I don’t want to get sued for firing someone with a disability. If I hire a person with a disability and they perform poorly, aren’t I “stuck” with them?

No. Your company’s policies and quality standards apply to employees with disabilities just as they apply to other employees. Once you have made the reasonable accommodations necessary to enable an employee to perform the essential functions of the job, the employee has to meet the job requirements.

2. I’m concerned about saying the wrong thing. What questions may I ask a job applicant with a disability?

Myths and Facts

Employers and the ADA: Myths and Facts

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a landmark federal law that protects the rights of people with disabilities by eliminating barriers to their participation in many aspects of living and working in America. In particular, the ADA prohibits covered employers from discriminating against people with disabilities in the full range of employment-related activities, from recruitment to advancement, to pay and benefits.

The foundation for the ADA is America’s promise of equal access to opportunity for all citizens.

Tax Incentives

There are three tax incentives available to employers that hire people with disabilities or make their places of business accessible for employees and customers with disabilities.

Work Opportunity Tax Credit The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a Federal tax credit available to employers for hiring individuals from certain target groups, including disabled persons, who have consistently faced significant barriers to employment. Refer to Form 8826, Disabled Access Credit, for information about eligible expenditures.

Interviewer Bias

A Primer on Bias in Interviewing

Jobseekers with Disabilities

by Mark Williams

March 2014

Past Webinars and Presentations

Webinar: August 25, 2014 Moving the Mindset: Disability and Bias in Interviewing & Hiring Presentation

Links

Article

Disability Etiquette

Many of us grew up during a time when people with disabilities were relegated to special classrooms, and, as children, we were told not to stare at or ask questions of people in wheelchairs, people using sign language, or people who were mentally retarded. Since then, laws have been passed to ensure the rights of people with disabilities, and society overall has become more accommodating and accepting of those who are "different." Americans with disabilities are now in the mainstream — living independently, working, playing, going to school, voting, shopping, and otherwise participating in the same activities as everyone else.

What You Can Do When Disability Parking Placards Are Abused

Although city and state governments are trying to stop placard abuse, there is enough blame to go around for people with disabilities because of taking advantage of the disabled parking system. Bill Bogdan, disability liaison for the state of Illinois (and a supporter of AbilityLinks) talks about The difference in states' use of placards, the loss of revenue to city and states because of abuse of disabled parking and finding solutions to this complex problem.

The Pomodoro Technique: What It Is, and How It Can Help Your Productivity

Lauren Bryant is a University of Illinois student who volunteered as an AbilityLinks blogger this summer. I was pleased to supervise Lauren and serve as her editor. Here is Lauren's final blog post of the summer. - Bill O'Connor

October 2016 Job Fair Employers

If you apply online with any of these companies let AbilityLinks know. Tell AbilityLinks the company name, job title and number. AbilityLinks will share this information with a recruiter from the company. If you haven't yet, please post your resume on AbilityLinks too.

Are You the Reason Your Career Is Stationary?

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Hello Everyone,

AbilityLinks Newsletter - September 2016

Thanks to the thousands of job seekers, businesses and service providers that have visited AbilityLinks.org, posted resumes and jobs, contacted us for help with job search and attended online and in person events, AbilityLinks celebrated its 15th Anniversary last month! Special congratulations to the more than 700 job seekers that let us know they successfully found employment.

AbilityLinks Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Breakfast Featuring Successful Job Seekers

Last month AbilityLinks celebrated its' 15th anniversary with a breakfast that featured four successful AbilityLinks job candidates: Eric McGee from Enesco, Ann Williams and Karolina Pieniazek from the Social Security Administration and Andrew Besbekos from Equip for Equality.

Also attending were AbilityLinks committee members, volunteers, supporters and staff that have shared their expertise and resources to help AbilityLinks grow.