Disabled Workers: We're looking for your stories!
Today kicks off National Disability Employment Awareness Month (Library of Congress Archive, linked here). As disabled workers ourselves, the Students with Disabilities Advocacy Group knows that barriers exist at every stage and status of employment.
We believe there is power and potential for change based in our shared lived experiences. With recent labor strikes around the country, there is momentum for disability justice activists to take a stand for disabled workers.
Use the form below to share your story about how you've been impacted by barriers to employment. We will share these stories towards the end of October along with calls to action.
Disability Employment Awareness Month
The Students with Disabilities Advocacy Group originally started on Georgia Southern University's Statesboro campus in 2021. Georgia Southern's campus is where our founders met and bonded through advocacy and lived experience.
Our pilot chapter is running strong at GSU and was asked by the University Library to develop a display in celebration of Disability Employment Awareness Month!
This display includes a resource on barriers to employment for current disabled workers, as well as resources available to the community. Photos of the Henderson Library display to come later!
You can find the handout PDF below, but read further in the blog for its contents in a text format.
Barriers to Employment in 2023
Written by Executive Director Jill King
The US Department of Labor reported in 2022 that disabled people have twice the rate of unemployment compared to nondisabled people (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, linked here). The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 established legal protections for disabled employees' right to accommodations in the workplace, yet we still see significant disparities.
The ADA protects our right to reasonable accommodations, but as they are defined by our employers. Navigating this process can be wrought with hoops and unwritten rules. The COVID-19 pandemic opened some doors in regard to accommodation barriers, including access to working from home (NPR, linked here; Forbes, linked here). As the national public health emergency ends and companies urge returns to the office, many disabled employees are nervous about losing progress and returning to uncertainty.
Alongside accommodation dynamics in the workplace, 37 states in the country still practice subminimum wage for disabled employees under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (World Institute on Disability, linked here). These realities remind us of the self-advocacy and education still needed for disabled workers.
Resources
Job Accommodation Network (askjan.org)
JAN is a free, open listing of workplace accommodations protected under the ADA.
This directory is categorized by disability, topic, and limitation.
This is a great resource for those looking to educate themselves on how to best advocate for their needs in the workplace.
Synergies Work (synergieswork.org) is a nonprofit empowering disabled entrepreneurs to build sustainable businesses.
In part due to the landscape of accommodation access in the workplace, many in the disabled community pursue entrepreneurship.
Synergies Work is the largest platform of disability-led startups in the United States, dedicated to sharing resources, networks, and communities.
National Disability Rights Network (ndrn.org)
The National Disability Rights Network oversees state Protection and Advocacy agencies. They work to advocate enforcement of laws protecting the civil and human rights of the disabled community, including equal employment opportunities.
Further Education
Small Business Ownership by People with Disabilities (Developed by the National Disability Institute, linked here)
State Legislative Watch on Subminimum Wage (Developed by The Association of People Supporting Employment First, linked here)
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