Nov 022015
 

The Times reports on a new study that finds evidence that employers continue to discriminate against otherwise well-qualified job candidates who have a disability. Researchers sent resumes and cover letters for fictional job candidates to thousands of employers. Employers were 26% less likely to respond to the applications from candidates who indicated in their cover letters that they had a disability, even though they had the exact same qualifications as their fictional, able-bodied peers.

The fact that such discrimination persists isn’t exactly surprising to those of us who have experienced it firsthand, but it’s disappointing nonetheless. Twenty-five years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the employment rate for people with disabilities is still abysmal and nobody seems to have any good ideas on how to improve it. We’ve had countless public awareness campaigns, demonstration projects, internship programs, and the like that are designed to encourage people to employ us, but nothing seems to stick. Of course, funding for other services like transportation and attendant care hasn’t improved much over the years, which may partially explain these stubborn statistics.

But even if funding for those services dramatically improved, I’m not so sure that employer attitudes would do the same. This study found that discrimination is most prevalent among small employers, which are the main engines of job growth in this country. Somehow, we need to convince those small employers that they are ignoring a valuable pool of potential employees.

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