Employment Checklist For Hiring Persons With Disabilities

Practical Suggestions

Do!

Do learn where to find and recruit people with disabilities.

Do learn how to communicate with people who have disabilities.

Do ensure that your applications and other company forms do not ask disability-related questions and that they are in formats that are accessible to all persons with disabilities.

Do consider having written job descriptions that identify the essential functions of the job.

Do ensure that requirements for medical examinations comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Do relax and make the applicant feel comfortable.

Do provide reasonable accommodations that the qualified applicant will need to compete for the job.

Do treat an individual with a disability the same way you would treat any applicant or employee-with dignity and respect.

Do know that among those protected by the ADA are qualified individuals who have AIDS, cancer, who are mentally retarded, traumatically brain injured, deaf, blind, and learning disabled.

Do understand that access includes not only environmental access, but also making forms accessible to people with visual or cognitive disabilities and making alarms/signals accessible to people with hearing disabilities.

Do develop procedures for maintaining and protecting confidential medical records.

Do train supervisors on making reasonable accommodations.

Don't!!

Don't assume that persons with disabilities are unemployable.

Don't assume that persons with disabilities lack the necessary education and training for employment.

Don't assume that persons with disabilities do not want to work.

Don't assume that alcoholism and drug abuse are not real disabilities, or that recovering drug abusers are not covered by the ADA.

Don't ask if a person has a disability during an employment interview.

Don't assume that certain jobs are more suited to persons with disabilities.

Don't hire a person with a disability if that person is a significant risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of the public and there is no reasonable accommodation to reduce the risk or the harm.

Don't hire a person with a disability who is not qualified to perform the essential functions of the job even with a reasonable accommodation.

Don't assume that you have to retain an unqualified employee with a disability.

Don't assume that your current management will need special training to learn how to work with people with disabilities.

Don't assume that the cost of accident insurance will increase as a result of hiring a person with a disability.

Don't assume that the work environment will be unsafe if an employee has a disability.

Don't assume that reasonable accommodations are expensive.

Don't speculate or try to imagine how you would perform a specific job if you had the applicant's disability.

Don't assume that you don't have any jobs that a person with a disability can do.

Don't make medical judgements.

Don't assume that a person with a disability can't do a job due to apparent and non-apparent disabilities.

Don't assume that your workplace is accessible.

How Do I Know If My Worksite Is Accessible?

The following are some questions to keep in mind when determining physical accessibility:

Are there designated parking spaces for persons with disabilities that are close to the entrance of the worksite?

Is there a pathway without abrupt level changes or steps that leads from the parking area to the entrance?

If ramps are used to provide access, are they appropriately graded and are handrails provided?

Are the doors wide enough (36 inches) for people using wheelchairs? Are they easy to open (e.g., not excessively heavy, with easily grasped handles, or automatic)?

Is the personnel office in an accessible location?

Are pathways to the bathroom, water fountain, and public telephone accessible? Can people with disabilities use them?

Are elevators accessible to all persons with disabilities (e.g., control panels lower than 54 inches from the floor, raised symbols or numbers on the control panels)?

Is all signage appropriate and accessible for persons with visual, learning, and cognitive disabilities (including the use of symbols and graphics)?

Does the emergency warning system include both audible and visual alarms?

Where Can I Obtain Additional Information?

President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities

(202) 376-6200 (VOICE), (202) 376-6205 (TTY/TTD), (202) 376-6219 (FAX)

President's Committee's on Employment of People with Disabilities' Job Accommodation Network (JAN)

(800) 526-7234 (VOICE/TTY/TTD), (304) 293-5407 (FAX)

jan@jan.icdi.wvu.edu (e-mail)

Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs)

(800) 949-4232 (VOICE/TTY/TTD), (703) 525-6835 (FAX)

Access Board

(VOICE) (800) 872-2253, (202) 272-5449 or (800) 993-2822 (TTY/TTD),

(202) 272-5447 (FAX)