Making It Work
by Jenni Mundl
The Americans with Disabilities Act is a Federal law enacted in
the 1980s. One goal of this legislative document is to ensure that
reasonable accommodations are provided on-the-job when needed. Reasonable
accommodations can mean the difference between being able to work
or not. A reasonable accommodation is any type of accommodation that
the potential employee needs to do the job, including items such
as computer equipment, auditory material, or closed captioning. Accommodations
also can be no-cost modifications such as allowing extra time to
complete a project or moving office equipment to a lower spot for
easier reach.
Work Accommodations
Both persons
with disabilities who are working and those who are not working
state a need for similar types of accommodations. One-third of non-working
persons with disabilities report the need for some type of accommodation.
The other two-thirds of persons with disabilities who are not working
report that they could work without accommodations or are unaware
of specific accommodations that might make working possible. The
most commonly cited accommodations were:
• Accessible parking
or accessible, nearby public transit stops - 19%
• Elevators
- 17%
• Adapted work stations
- 15%
• Special work arrangements
(reduced or part-time hours or job redesign) - 12%
• Handrails
or ramps - 10.4%
• Job coaches - 5.6%
• Specific
office supplies - 4.5%
• Personal assistants
- 4.0%
• Braille, enlarged print,
special lighting or audio tapes - 2.5%
• Voice synthesizers,
TTY, infrared systems, or other technical devices - 1.8%
• Readers,
oral, or sign language interpreters - 1.8%
Meeting Accommodation and
Access Needs of Applicants
Listed in the table below
are the 11 areas of accommodations and five access areas outlined
in a study conducted by Cornell University. The table also shows
the percentage of employers who state they have made accommodations
in specific areas.
The Cornell University study shows that much accommodation still
needs to be done to help bring the unemployment rate for persons
with disabilities in line with the unemployment rate of the general
public. Progress is being made. More work needs to be done by persons
with disabilities, educators, and rehabilitation counselors, in conjunction
with public and private employment communities to achieve full integration
of persons with disabilities into employment.
