Americans with Disabilities in the Workplace

1. Americans with Disabilities in the Workplace AJ McDonaldMolly MoonKabaoXiong

2. Americans with Disabilities Act

3. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) First passed in 1990 by George HW Bush Prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities Definition of disability: physical or mental impairment that limits one or more major life activity Can perform the essential functions of the job with reasonable accommodations (if necessary) Not to the point of undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business www.eeoc.gov

4. Americans with Disabilities ActAmended in 2008 Changes effective January 1, 2009 • Deleted two instances in the ADA that restricted the meaning and application of the definition of disability • Law expands that the new definition should be implemented in favor of broad coverage to the maximum extent • Changes in evaluating what can be considered a disability • Must consider condition without accommodations, assistive technology or medication • Assessment must be in active state www.eeoc.gov

5. Defining Disability Major Life Activity CARE: caring for oneself PARTNERSHIP: performing mutual tasks SENSES/SUSTINENCE: seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping,  breathing MOBILITY: walking, standing, lifting, bending, working EXPRESSIVENESS: speaking, learning, communication  INTELLECTUAL: reading, concentrating, thinking MAJOR BODILY FUNCTIONS: immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive function www.eeoc.gov

6. Reasonable Accommodation& Undue Hardship An action requiring significant difficulty or expense in light of the employer's: size financial resources nature and structure of operation Considerations Affect on other employees Workplace policies/special accommodations Extent of restructuring  Leave of absence Privacy of individual with a disability  www.eeoc.gov

7. Accommodations Covered by the ADA Reasonable Accommodations Undue Hardship www.eeoc.gov Changes to job application process Changes to work environment and/or modifying company policy/procedures Job restructuring Reassignment to vacant position Reasonable time of leave Use of additional resources to complete work Changes in required skills and abilities for position Modifications that affects other workers' abilities/morale Lowering the standard of work Creating a new position Leave of absence with no approximate end date Providing personal use items

8. Hiring and Employing Individuals with Disabilities

9. Hiring Disabled Individuals Even though the ADA was first signed into law in 1990, in 2003 unemployment rates were relatively unchanged Why are some organizations more willing than others to hire people with disabilities? “Identification and Characteristics of Work Environments and Employers Open to Hiring and Accommodating Workers with Disabilities” -Gilbride, Vandergoot & Stensrud, 2003

10. Employer Characteristics • Categories of characteristics of employers willing to hire people with disabilities: •  Cultural factors •  Job match •  Employer experience and support Gilbride et al., 2003

11. Cultural Factors Employers include people with disabilities with all workers and treat them equally.  Employers welcome diversity; they are egalitarian and inclusive.  Employers' management style is more personal and flexible.  Employers focus on a worker's performance, not his or her disability.  Senior management expects and rewards diversity.  Employers are comfortable providing accommodations to all their employees.  The organization provides "cafeteria style" benefits. Gilbride et al., 2003

12. Most Prevalent Cultural Factors • Inclusion • Employees' main concern is being included • "They include us in everything that they do. I mean we are included. We were having a Christmas party a couple of weeks ago, and they are including us in it. Everything they do we are included. We have staff meetings for, like, company meetings every month because how our production was the past month, how much scrap was there for the whole place, what new contracts were in, what old contracts were going out. They include us in everything. " - Gilbridge et al., 2003 Gilbride et al., 2003

13. Most Prevalent Cultural Factors • Equality •  Employers focus on work performance rather than the disability • "I don't think they see the disabilities. They treat us like we're--like you want to be treated, like a regular human being, and that's the way they treat us there. You know they don't see disabilities. They see our performance. As long as we perform to the best of our abilities, that's all they ask." – Employee • "I hire for attitude and train for skills. After that, the cost of accommodations is nothing. I want employees who will stay and do good work."  - Employer Gilbride et al., 2003

14. Most Prevalent Cultural Factors • Diversity • Employees are rewarded instead of punished for being diverse • A disability is just another form of being diverse “It is the same thing with the ethnic part of it, and in the plant that I'm in there are a lot of people who are from different countries ... you know everybody helps each other out. Being disabled out there where I am, it doesn't really make any difference. ” -Employee

15. Job Match Focus on individual's capabilities and effectively matches the worker with the job requirements The employer obtains input from people with disabilities on their ability to perform job duties, and he or she includes people with disabilities in all accommodation discussions Employer focuses on essential, rather than marginal, functions Employer offers internships, and they often lead to jobs Gilbride et al., 2003

16. Work Experience and Support Employer has the ability to supervise a diverse workforce The employer views the community rehabilitation program (or other rehabilitation agency) as a partner and as an on-going employment support resource “I think what I could use the most is a point of contact, someone that I know I can pick up the phone and call and ask questions ... about reasonable accommodations ... the ADA, especially that, what it is we're expected to do, what's reasonable.” -Employer Gilbride et al., 2003

17. Workplace Attitudes

18. Workers’ Attitudes • Attitudes -beliefs, affective reactions, reasonableness of accommodation • Examine employees’ understanding of “disability” conditions and role of gender and experience in predicting attitudes Findings: • Employees unaware of what conditions are legally considered a "disability" under ADA 1990 • E.g. schizophrenia Popovich et al. (2003)

19. Findings • Gender • Women were more likely to believe in the reasonableness work accommodations • Experience  • Experience with persons with disabilities was a predictor of positive attitudes • Previous work experience with employees with disability was not predictor of positive attitudes Popovich et al. (2003)

20. Employers’ Attitudes • Factors that influence employers' attitudes  • Size of organization • Experience with employees with disability  • Employers do not quite understand which conditions are considered a disability Lee, (2001)

21. Importance in understanding ADA standards • Necessity of 2008 revisions • Workplace environments can benefit from hiring well-placed disabled individuals • Job match is a key component • There is still much disparity in understanding the definition of disability • Experience with including disabled individuals affects workplace attitudes CONCLUSION Americans in the Workplace with Disabilities