Many of us are aware of the influence of JAN’s services in the United States, but our impact is at times international in scope. A recent Canadian Report from the Panel on Labour Market Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities entitled Rethinking Disability in the Private Sector: We All Have Abilities. Some Are More Apparent Than Others (2013) highlights data from JAN’s publication Low Cost, High Impact (2012). The panel, commissioned by the Government of Canada, shares evidence gathered from both private sector companies as well as current research. The panel writes:
By connecting directly with employers, our panel set out to discover what can be done about the unemployment and under-employment of qualified people with disabilities in Canada. We explored the barriers – some physical and many attitudinal – but chose to focus on the positive. Our goal is to shine the light on best practices and successes among Canadian employers who have welcomed people with disabilities into their ranks. These examples can help us learn and do better.
In the section of the report seeking to dispel myths, JAN’s cost data on accommodating a person with a disability is highlighted. The myth cited is that the cost of accommodation for employers is prohibitive. The panel writes, “In a widely accepted study conducted by the U.S. Job Accommodation Network (JAN), workplace accommodations are shown to be low cost, with 57 percent of participants spending nothing at all. Of those accommodations that did have a cost, the typical one-time expenditure by employers was $500.” They also discuss additional data from the JAN study on the direct and indirect benefits to employers of making an accommodation.
You can view the entire report here:
Rethinking Disability in the Private Sector: We All Have Abilities. Some Are More Apparent Than Others
Report from the Panel on Labour Market Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (2013)
