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http://www.microsoft.com/enable/news/hrseminar.htm

                Accessibility in Today's Workplace

Human Resource Professionals Learn Benefits of Hiring Persons
with Disabilities

The employment rate among individuals with disabilities dropped
from 34 percent in 1986 to 29 percent in 1997.

With those statistics in mind, Microsoft invited more than 60
human resource professionals and managers from major
corporations to demonstrate how computers can enable this group
of workers. Some of the executives in attendance had previously
been unaware of accessibility as it relates to computers.

The one-day seminar, "Accessibility in Today's Workplace," in
collaboration with the National Business and Disability Council,
was held was held in New York on July 22, 1998. The attendees
from major U.S. corporations and organizations represented over
587,000 employees.

Corporate participants included Bell Atlantic, J.P. Morgan,
GEICO Insurance, Liberty Mutual Insurance, IBM, Avis, Olsten
Corporation, Con Edison, and Citibank. Large government agencies
present were the Internal Revenue Service, US Army Corps of
Engineers, Department of Defense, US Postal Service, and the New
York State Dept of Labor.

A highlight of the seminar was the appearance of Greg Lowney,
Microsoft's Director of Accessibility, as he answered questions
live from Redmond, Washington. Lowney spoke about Microsoft's
vision and how it is enabling workers with disabilities.

Microsoft Product Manager, Moti Krauthamer, demonstrated
accessibility features in Windows 98, Office 97 and Internet
Explorer 4.01. David Bolnick, a Microsoft Program Manager,
demonstrated closed captioning and audio description for
multimedia using a new technology called SAMI.

HR departments not only hire new people, they must also figure
out how to accommodate employees who either have or acquire a
disability. They are generally the department that monitors the
Americans with Disabilities Act compliance within a company.

Francine M. Tishman, Executive Director, National Business and
Disability Council, noted, "It's now easier for companies to
provide reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities.
Because of this, job opportunities for individuals with
disabilities should be significantly enhanced." In addition,
some of the attendees acknowledged that the savings in long term
training costs, due to lower turnover among these workers, is
one of the benefits of hiring persons with disabilities.

The attendees not only learned how to customize their software
to an employee's needs, but also saw first-hand people with
disabilities training and working with computers. Many of the
hiring executives were very positive about the possibility of
recruiting from a larger work force once they saw how people
with disabilities could do the job. To help companies interested
in hiring people with disabilities, the National Business and
Disability Council has set up a database on their web Web site
of prescreened applicants.

Jim Barry, Adaptive Communication Technology specialist at Bell
Atlantic, summed up the day.

     "Microsoft sponsored a program designed to promote
     employment opportunities for people with disabilities
     by educating the employers about the empowering
     functionality found on standard workplace technology.
     This effort underscores the growing importance of
     this, the largest of the minority groups -- 54 million
     people -- to the economy,"


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Notices. Last updated on August 10, 1998.