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The Business Case for Hiring People with a Disability

While innovation and productivity continue to be Silicon Valley's dominant rallying cries, neither of these ideals can exist in a financial vacuum. It is perhaps for this reason that, despite a notable increase in venture capital funding and increased demand for products and services, Silicon Valley is not experiencing the delirious whirlwind of business activity from only a few years past. Instead, the Silicon Valley business community is responding to the upturn with a more cautious, calculated response. Businesses now seem conditioned to meet this increased demand by expecting greater productivity from a smaller staff, putting greater emphasis on the need for dependable and reliable employees. Hiring individuals with disabilities, therefore, is a shrewd business move.

One major incentive for hiring people with disabilities comes in the form of tax incentives. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy, several different tax breaks exist for businesses that remove accessibility barriers and "hire certain targeted low-income groups," including workers with disabilities. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), for example, allows an employer to take a tax credit of up to $2,400 in wages paid during the first 12 months for each new hire.

For many companies, the practice of hiring people with disabilities is not a common rule of thumb due perhaps to several false assumptions. Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), in a recent survey of employer attitude research, found that a significant number of employers believe that hiring people with disabilities would cost more than hiring those with no identified disability. The cost of making a workstation accessible, for example, is often perceived to be prohibitive, particularly for small businesses. However, as VCU and the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) have determined, accommodations typically cost less than $500, with many organizations adapting in-house resources to meet an employee's accommodation needs. Additionally, many accommodations are covered by the individual's disability insurance and may be paid for in part or in full by the employee directly.

Furthermore, companies that hire qualified candidates who have disabilities have also been shown to save an average of more than $10,000 per employee each year due to reduced turnover, as employees with disabilities have been found to work as hard and harder and tend to remain committed to a company longer than their non-disabled colleagues.

Although the current economy tends to favor the employer in the supply and demand of job openings, the projection is that by 2010, Silicon Valley businesses will experience an employee shortfall akin to the current staffing crisis in healthcare. To prepare for this shortfall, though, businesses have a huge, untapped resource of skilled and knowledgeable workers in people with disabilities. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 54 million people have a disability, and of the 70 percent of this population who are currently unemployed, 90 percent want to work. This population expands the current pool of willing and ready job applicants by more than 34 million people.

Given the many benefits to hiring people with disabilities, there is still reluctance on the part of some hiring managers to hire equally (or more) qualified candidates who have a disability. This reluctance may be due in part to unfamiliarity of disabilities in general, so hiring managers may elect to hire a non-disabled candidate to avoid the discomfort of the unknown. To address this concern and to help facilitate the relationship between companies and people with disabilities, employers can turn to the Employer Assistance and Recruiting Network (EARN) and JAN, two free nationwide services that assist employers with locating qualified candidates and that provide information about making reasonable workplace accommodations. For local assistance, NOVA offers disability-related services and resources to businesses and individuals through its Disability Navigator Program (see NOVA Service section for additional information).

It is unclear when Silicon Valley will fully recover from the current economic downturn. What is clear, however, is that companies that make an informed decision to hire qualified individuals with disabilities will prove to be more competitive in the long run and be better able to navigate the ever-shifting business climate of Silicon Valley.

The above employment chart shows that just over one-third of people age 18-64 with disabilities are employed compared to more than three-quarters of those without disabilities.

Information about tax incentives, affirmative action programs, EEOC requirements, cultural diversity training and more can be obtained from NOVA or one of its CONNECT! partners. Contact CONNECT! Business Services (408-730-7830) and ask about Diversity Employment Services.