From the Las Vegas Sun:

The economic slowdown is threatening jobs for more than 350 adults with intellectual disabilities in Las Vegas, as companies that have supported a local employment program are pulling contracts in an effort to cut costs.

Organizers at Opportunity Village say the cost-cutting efforts are misplaced, and that workers with disabilities can do work with more reliability and less expense.

“(The companies) think they’re saving themselves money to do it that way, but they’re really not,” said one manager. “What they were paying us pennies to do, they’re now paying an hourly employee to do, and they don’t do it nearly as fast as we do.”

Opportunity Village is a not-for-profit organization that serves people with intellectual disabilities by providing them with vocational training, employment and social recreation.

(Photo of Kevin Schmidt arranging condiment packages for Harrah’s Corporation, Las Vegas Sun)

See also: Tony Orlando performance benefits Opportunity Village

From Newhouse News Service in the Seattle Times:

Nearly 22 million Americans of working age have a disability, but they are only half as likely to be employed as people without. And even if they manage to get a job, they are paid less.

Experts say public misconceptions are often the cause, as employers worry that they might face higher workers’ compensation costs and insurance rates. Employers may also believe (wrongly) that people with disabilities have problems with absenteeism and low productivity.

Applicants are advised to be honest, but not go overboard in offering information about their disability. Tips for job seekers are included.

From Government Executive magazine:

Christine Griffin, a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, says the federal government is doing a “terrible job” in employing people with disabilities. She said the ranks of disabled employees in fiscal 2007 amounted to only 0.9 percent of the federal workforce, down from a meager 1.2 percent in fiscal 1996.

It’s not only that few people with disabilities are getting in the door at federal agencies, Griffin said. They also are not rising through the ranks.

… “You can’t have anything that the rest of America has unless you have a job and you have money,” said Griffin, who uses a wheelchair. “They look at us and say, ‘Isn’t it great they get to go to a restaurant?’ But it hasn’t changed their views of what I’m capable of doing. . . . I see employment for people with disabilities as critical to changing society’s view of us as people, as human beings. . . . That’s where this revolution is going to take place.”

From the Tallahassee Democrat:

People with disabilities want to work but find lots of obstacles in their way, says Bryan Vaughan, executive director of the Florida Governor’s Commission on Disabilities. Even when employers have an opening and are willing to hire a person with a disability, prospective employees must then find accessible transportation and appropriate housing.

As a result, people with disabilities have very low employment rates. A recent report by Cornell university found that the employment rate for people with disabilities was just 37.7 percent nationwide, and 39.1 percent in Florida.

From a press release on Yahoo Business:

A national study by the Bobby Dodd Institute in Atlanta found an overwhelming majority of those surveyed feel that people with disabilities face barriers to hiring in the American workplace. The study also found that more than one-quarter (26 percent) of respondents say they are uncomfortable when interacting with people with disabilities or even avoid interaction.

The survey was conducted by 2008 Kelton Research, based on 1,000 nationwide online interviews among adults 18 years or older.

“The challenge that workers with disabilities are facing isn’t their disability,” said Wayne McMillan, president and CEO of BDI. “The challenge is dispelling myths and preconceptions about accommodations and competency. In reality, this population performs at a high level and can provide a tremendous value in the workplace.”

In an effort to combat stigma and communicate the advantages of hiring people with disabilities, the BDI website offers free disability awareness training.

See also:

• Presidential Proclamation for Disability Employment Awareness Month — White House press release
• Work helps Katie Bowman be a ‘totally different person’—Tallahassee Democrat
• Workers with disabilities contribute to many workplaces — By Jim DeBeaugrine in the Tallahassee Democrat

From the New York Times:

The Constitutional Court of South Korea is considering a challenge to a law that allows only the legally blind to become professional masseurs. The legal challenge by sighted masseurs is stirring intense passions, including protests that have left three people dead. “Massage is the only job we blind can do,” said one masseur. “In the name of free competition, they are trying to take away our right to survive.”

Prejudice and lack of official support have long restricted opportunities for people with disabilities in South Korea, and blind people say they sense persistent social stigma. Sighted masseurs argue that the law violates their right to employment and holds blind people back by confining them to a single vocation.

From Fortune Small Business/CNN Money:

Debra Ruh’s TecAccess was named one of the Small Business Administration’s top ten success stories in 2008. The company places people with disabilities in technology jobs, and consults with organizations about making hardware, software and websites accessible to those with disabilities.

The mother of an adult daughter with Down syndrome, Ruh realized the value of technology for people with disabilities while volunteering in her daughter’s special education class. “Accessibility used to be about building ramps,” Ruh says. “Now it’s about building ramps to technology.”

Companies say accessible products allow them to be more competitive in the marketplace, and employers say that in some cases employees with disabilities are more motivated. Ruh says employees with disabilities are often more creative since they must solve problems daily, and the cost of meeting ADA requirements for employees with disabilities is usually lower than employers expect — median cost $600.

The company is set up as a for-profit firm because Ruh says “We didn’t want to be marginalized … we wanted to emphasize that this is good for business.” Her profits have grown every year.

See earlier post here.

(David Yellen photo/Fortune Small Business/CNN.com)

Guest commentary:

What Kind of Advocacy

Do Americans with Disabilities Really Need?

By Paul K. Longmore

Ever since Sarah Palin’s acceptance speech, the “needs” of children with disabilities have gotten a lot of press. Palin pledged to be a “friend and advocate” for those children. News stories have reported the excitement of parents and other people in the disability rights constituency that disability issues are finally getting some attention. Some of them have decided to support the election of Palin and John McCain. But do the Republican candidates offer the kind of advocacy Americans with disabilities really need? I don’t believe they do, and I want to explain why I am voting for Barack Obama and Joe Biden instead.

(more…)

From USA Today:

Groups representing people with Down syndrome say Sarah Palin could help boost efforts to help people with disabilities live more independently.

Among the priorities they cited were additional funding for physical therapy after birth, long-term financial incentives to help people with Down syndrome pay housing and medical bills into adulthood, and strengthening the No Child Left Behind law.

They also called for lifting the $2,000 cap on assets for Medicaid eligibility requirements, because the cap encourages people with disabilities to make less money in order to qualify for federal benefits.

Madeleine Will, vice president of public policy for the National Down Syndrome Society, said advocates also want Congress to make changes such as:

• Requiring doctors to provide more detailed information about Down syndrome to parents who receive prenatal and postnatal diagnoses, including life expectancy data and contacts of local support groups. The idea has support from lawmakers on both sides of the abortion issue.

• Allowing families to save money in tax-exempt accounts that can be used to pay for expenses associated with education, medical treatment and employment training.