Chicago Tribune
October 27, 2002
Disabled job seekers struggle to find work
A landmark law failed to improve the disabled's employment situation,
even in a strong economy. Now a slowdown has made it harder.
By Barbara Ballinger Buchholz. T. Shawn Taylor contributed to this
report
October 27, 2002
Like many job seekers, Sam Joehl is frustrated. The 27-year-old Chicagoan
has sent more than 100 resumes in seven months, but so far has gone on
just a few job interviews and received no offers.
Joehl attributes most of his misfortune to the stalled economy. But he
knows he faces a greater challenge than the average job hunter due to his
visual impairment.
"I don't want to sit around and do nothing. I'm young and feel fairly
intelligent, but there are employers not willing to hire those with
disabilities," said Joehl, who recently earned a bachelor's degree in
computer training after losing his job as a medical transcriber. He lost
that job because the software program he needed to do the work was
changed so it no longer could be used by the legally blind.
The job hunt is frustrating for people like Sam Joehl because Americans
with non-severe disabilities are traditionally a hard-working bunch.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program
Participation (SIPP), in the prime employable years of 21 to 64, 77
percent of those with a non-severe disability had a job or business
compared with 82 percent of people without a disability. Only 26 percent
of those with a severe disability were at work.
And even though a major purpose of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 was to increase the employment rate of people with disabilities by
making it illegal to discriminate against them, their unemployment rates
have failed to improve--despite the booming economy in the late 1990s.
Now that the job market has stalled, the outlook has only worsened.
One gauge of how the disabled are faring in today's job market is that
more are turning toward the government for support--a sign they may be
having trouble finding work. About 1.5 million people last year filed for
Social Security disability insurance, a number that's up 13 percent from
2000.
During the boom years of the 1990s, disabled workers were the one sector
that saw employment decline, some economists say. "Typically, groups with
lower average employment such as the disabled, African-American teens and
single moms witness the most dramatic fluctuations over a business
cycle," explained Joshua Angrist, economics professor at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
"In down times, their employment ranks fall off more sharply and in boom
times they increase more. But the disabled saw deterioration [even during
economic growth]."
Specifically, those with work limitations saw their employment rate drop
to 32.8 percent in 2000 from 40.8 percent in 1989, while those without
limitations saw employment increase to 88.1 percent from 86.3 percent
during the same period, said David C. Stapleton, director of the Cornell
University Center for Policy Research in Washington. These figures are
based off of Current Population Survey data, which differ from SIPP.
In the short term, Angrist said, the ADA may have backfired because many
employers perceive that complying with the ADA comes with a price tag.
Other researchers dispute this conclusion, arguing that no studies have
been able to disentangle the ADA's impact with other factors--such as
changes in the mix of jobs in the economy or access to Social Security
Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income benefits.
Still, some employers worry that insurance premiums will climb if they
hire disabled workers. Todd Swim, a principal and consulting actuary at
Mercer Human Resource Consulting in Chicago, said those fears aren't
unfounded. The disabled generally incur health-care costs twice those of
the nondisabled.
"The 2-to-1 ratio varies by the severity of the disability," added Swim,
explaining that, for example, an employee with diabetes is much more
likely to have higher-than-average health costs than a worker who is
hearing impaired.
Employers also have expressed concerns over the costs of reasonable
accommodations for disabled workers guaranteed under the ADA. But the
government insists that many of these costs are minimal. According to
research by the Job Accommodation Network, a program funded through the
Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, nearly half
of on-the-job accommodations cost less than $500 and 20 percent of them
cost nothing at all.
Peggy Palter, spokeswoman for Hoffman Estates-based Sears, Roebuck and
Co., which has made hiring the disabled a diversity initiative, said most
accommodations involve such simple things as providing flexible schedules
and bending dress codes to allow for special footwear.
But even if an accommodation required expensive computer software, Palter
said Sears views that as a worthwhile expense to hire a qualified person.
In addition, disabled workers are known to be very loyal employees, she
said.
"That's obviously a huge advantage to us. The retail industry is composed
of a lot of part-time employees. The turnover is very high. We have found
that [disabled workers] are very, very qualified and a very good pool of
workers," Palter said.
The federal government is helping states phase in its Ticket to Work and
Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, which provides access to
employment training and placement services and provides health care
supports for working individuals with disabilities. Illinois is among the
first 13 states.
Earlier this month, Mayor Richard M. Daley became the first mayor to sign
an executive order creating a task force to coordinate a citywide plan to
bring more disabled into the workforce. "It's fine to make office
buildings accessible. But how much good does that do if people with
disabilities can't find jobs in those buildings?" he asked.
In addition, Daley will introduce an ordinance to expand the city's
commitment to contract with businesses owned or operated by people with
disabilities. David Hanson, commissioner of the Mayor's Office for People
with Disabilities and co-chair of the Task Force, estimates the area has
400,000 disabled.
Copyright © 2002, Chicago Tribune Improved archives!
Chicago Tribune: Disabled job seekers struggle to find work
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0210270477oct27,0,3961768.stor
y?coll=chi%2Dbusiness%2Dhed
Disabled job seekers struggle to find work
A landmark law failed to improve the disabled's employment situation,
even in a strong economy. Now a slowdown has made it harder. By Barbara
Ballinger Buchholz. T. Shawn Taylor contributed to this report
October 27, 2002
Like many job seekers, Sam Joehl is frustrated. The 27-year-old Chicagoan
has sent more than 100 resumes in seven months, but so far has gone on
just a few job interviews and received no offers.
Joehl attributes most of his misfortune to the stalled economy. But he
knows he faces a greater challenge than the average job hunter due to his
visual impairment.
"I don't want to sit around and do nothing. I'm young and feel fairly
intelligent, but there are employers not willing to hire those with
disabilities," said Joehl, who recently earned a bachelor's degree in
computer training after losing his job as a medical transcriber. He lost
that job because the software program he needed to do the work was
changed so it no longer could be used by the legally blind.
The job hunt is frustrating for people like Sam Joehl because Americans
with non-severe disabilities are traditionally a hard-working bunch.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program
Participation (SIPP), in the prime employable years of 21 to 64, 77
percent of those with a non-severe disability had a job or business
compared with 82 percent of people without a disability. Only 26 percent
of those with a severe disability were at work.
And even though a major purpose of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 was to increase the employment rate of people with disabilities by
making it illegal to discriminate against them, their unemployment rates
have failed to improve--despite the booming economy in the late 1990s.
Now that the job market has stalled, the outlook has only worsened.
One gauge of how the disabled are faring in today's job market is that
more are turning toward the government for support--a sign they may be
having trouble finding work. About 1.5 million people last year filed for
Social Security disability insurance, a number that's up 13 percent from
2000.
During the boom years of the 1990s, disabled workers were the one sector
that saw employment decline, some economists say. "Typically, groups with
lower average employment such as the disabled, African-American teens and
single moms witness the most dramatic fluctuations over a business
cycle," explained Joshua Angrist, economics professor at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
"In down times, their employment ranks fall off more sharply and in boom
times they increase more. But the disabled saw deterioration [even during
economic growth]."
Specifically, those with work limitations saw their employment rate drop
to 32.8 percent in 2000 from 40.8 percent in 1989, while those without
limitations saw employment increase to 88.1 percent from 86.3 percent
during the same period, said David C. Stapleton, director of the Cornell
University Center for Policy Research in Washington. These figures are
based off of Current Population Survey data, which differ from SIPP.
In the short term, Angrist said, the ADA may have backfired because many
employers perceive that complying with the ADA comes with a price tag.
Other researchers dispute this conclusion, arguing that no studies have
been able to disentangle the ADA's impact with other factors--such as
changes in the mix of jobs in the economy or access to Social Security
Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income benefits.
Still, some employers worry that insurance premiums will climb if they
hire disabled workers. Todd Swim, a principal and consulting actuary at
Mercer Human Resource Consulting in Chicago, said those fears aren't
unfounded. The disabled generally incur health-care costs twice those of
the nondisabled.
"The 2-to-1 ratio varies by the severity of the disability," added Swim,
explaining that, for example, an employee with diabetes is much more
likely to have higher-than-average health costs than a worker who is
hearing impaired.
Employers also have expressed concerns over the costs of reasonable
accommodations for disabled workers guaranteed under the ADA. But the
government insists that many of these costs are minimal. According to
research by the Job Accommodation Network, a program funded through the
Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, nearly half
of on-the-job accommodations cost less than $500 and 20 percent of them
cost nothing at all.
Peggy Palter, spokeswoman for Hoffman Estates-based Sears, Roebuck and
Co., which has made hiring the disabled a diversity initiative, said most
accommodations involve such simple things as providing flexible schedules
and bending dress codes to allow for special footwear.
But even if an accommodation required expensive computer software, Palter
said Sears views that as a worthwhile expense to hire a qualified person.
In addition, disabled workers are known to be very loyal employees, she
said.
"That's obviously a huge advantage to us. The retail industry is composed
of a lot of part-time employees. The turnover is very high. We have found
that [disabled workers] are very, very qualified and a very good pool of
workers," Palter said.
The federal government is helping states phase in its Ticket to Work and
Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, which provides access to
employment training and placement services and provides health care
supports for working individuals with disabilities. Illinois is among the
first 13 states.
Earlier this month, Mayor Richard M. Daley became the first mayor to sign
an executive order creating a task force to coordinate a citywide plan to
bring more disabled into the workforce. "It's fine to make office
buildings accessible. But how much good does that do if people with
disabilities can't find jobs in those buildings?" he asked.
In addition, Daley will introduce an ordinance to expand the city's
commitment to contract with businesses owned or operated by people with
disabilities. David Hanson, commissioner of the Mayor's Office for People
with Disabilities and co-chair of the Task Force, estimates the area has
400,000 disabled.
Copyright © 2002, Chicago Tribune Improved archives!
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