Originally published here.

Since passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, employers have had to make sure that they do not discriminate against job candidates or employees on the basis of an individual's disability. This article explores how employers can make their workplaces accessible to people with disabilities. Areas of discussion include background on the issue; the benefits for employers who hire people with disabilities; how HR can foster the hiring, accommodation and retention of employees who have disabilities; and the costs of making workplaces accessible for such employees. The article also supplies links to information and resources for developing an accessible workplace and complying with the ADA.

Individuals with disabilities have historically been segregated and isolated. Passage of the ADA, which prohibits employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities, has advanced understanding of the nature of various disabilities and of the fact that people with disabilities can achieve significant personal and professional goals. Nonetheless, preventing discrimination against such individuals in the workplace continues to be a challenge. See EEOC Targets Hiring Barriers for Applicants with Disabilities and Eliminating Barriers.

Although physical accessibility within the workplace has improved to some degree for employees with disabilities, job prospects remain sparse. A U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report of 2020 data showed that the unemployment rate for people without disabilities was 7.9 percent, while the rate for people with disabilities was 12.6 percent. See Persons with a Disability: Labor Force Characteristics Summary.

A study by the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) shows that accommodations in the workplace provide consistent employer benefits over time with minimal costs.1 The study found that providing accommodations to individuals in the workplace resulted in such benefits as retaining valuable employees, improving productivity and morale, reducing workers' compensation and training costs, and improving company diversity. The majority of employers in the study (59 percent) reported that the accommodations they provided had zero cost, and when accommodations did involve costs, the amount typically was only $500.

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