Individuals with differing abilities and disabling conditions also play an important role in the workforce. As a matter of fact, in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) passed and employers were encouraged to hire individuals with different disabilities. There are over 40 million Americans with disabilities covered by the ADA. With more baby boomers in the workforce, the number of individuals with disabilities will continue to escalate. Individuals with the following conditions are considered disabled: hearing impaired, legally blind, epileptic, paralyzed, wheelchair users, and speech impaired according to the ADA. As a result, employers and human resource professionals are tasked with being more precise about job requirements, skills needed, and knowledge needed to perform each job. Also, special accommodations are expected to be made for disabled workers such as more flexible work schedules. Companies such as IBM have a long history of hiring disabled individuals. Thus, human resource professionals are responsible for staffing, recruiting, and training individuals with disabilities. One aspect of a thriving employment brand is the recruitment of individuals with disabilities.
Please begin by reading:
HR Professional’s Toolbox. (2011). Human resources guide to employing people with disabilities. Retrieved on September 13, 2014 from http://www.onlinehumanresources.net/hr-ada-overvie…
Myths and fact about people with disabilities. (N.D.). Retrieved on September 13, 2014 from http://www.in.gov/spd/files/Myth.pdf
US Department of Labor. (2011). Hiring individuals with disabilities. Retrieved on September 13, 2014 from http://www.dol.gov/compliance/topics/hiring-disabi…
Then, drawing on the material in the background readings and doing additional research, please prepare a 4-5 page paper (not including the cover and reference pages) in which you:
- Analyze the importance of having disabled individuals in the workforce from a human resource professional perspective and discuss strategies for selecting and recruiting disabled individuals in the workforce.
- Identify different strategies for retaining disabled individuals in the workforce.
- What trainings could you provide?
- Discuss an effective and unbiased hiring process framework of selecting, interviewing, and recruiting disabled individuals in the workforce. For example, discuss the importance of structured interviewing, behavioral interviewing, reference/background checks, pre-employment screenings, job offers (e.g., employment-at-will or contracts), and post-offer screenings.
