Judy is a healthy adult American woman in her forties. Like many in the US, Judy has been seeking employment for a long time. Longer than most. Judy lives in an area with higher than average employment opportunities. Still, she has been unemployed or underemployed for years. Despite her computer skills, education, intelligence and creativity, her open manner, and eagerness to be involved, employers have consistently turned her away without a second glance. Judy is deaf.
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Since 1990 (1973 for the federal government), employers have been prohibited from discriminating against employees or applicants with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), passed by President George H. W. Bush, gave the same protection from discrimination to those with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 did against discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, national origin, or other unlawful bases.
The problem with the ADA is enforcing it. Preventing discrimination is difficult, to say the least. Employers may not ask prospective employees about disabilities except to determine that they are capable of performing the required work with or without special accommodations. There is nothing to prevent an employer from passing over an application without saying anything. Reasons are rarely given.
The only real enforcement available to the affected population is recourse after the fact. An employee or applicant who feels his or her rights have been violated may file a complaint against the employer. According to Diego Demya, Technical Assistance Specialist in ADA Law at the ADA National Network (DBTAC), thousands of complaints are received every year. These complaints are given initial examinations and those apparently without merit are discarded. After a period of time – generally several months – those complaints that remain are investigated.
Many Forms of Discrimination
Discrimination can take many forms, from not meeting accessibility needs to refusing to hire those with disabilities even when qualified to disparaging remarks by co-workers to only giving menial assignments. Doug* was born deaf. For most of his 70 years, he had worked for a railroad and then for a nursery. Finally, in his later years, he was only able to find employment stocking dairy products for a small grocery store. As Doug’s health declined, his wife, Carol, who was also deaf, worried that without his income they wouldn’t be able to meet their expenses. She sought work but was unable to find an employer willing to take the time to work with the deaf.
Despite the $103 million paid out to resolve complaints in 2011 alone, Judy, Carol and thousands like them are left looking for work and unable to convince employers they are worth hiring. Instead of earning a paycheck, Judy draws disability. She would rather be working.
Greatest Challenge – Deaf Communication
The main challenges employers face when hiring the deaf are in communications. The ability to communicate between co-workers, leadership and the public can be crucial. Telephones, computers, and other electronic devices may be critical to a business. Many involve direct, in person contact with clientele. From retail clerks to Fortune 500 executives, the ability to communicate with others is essential.
Fortunately, communication has evolved with technology. Computers offer virtually unlimited possibilities for communications, training, information processing and storage, and countless other uses that are becoming increasingly vital to the modern workplace. At major corporations such as Dell, Inc., employees communicate by email and instant messaging more often than by spoken word. According to one employee, “It means we don’t have to interrupt what we’re doing and walk to their desk. That person can get back to me right then or wait until he has time.” Such communication crosses major barriers for the deaf, greatly reducing the reliance on sound and speech.
Still, there are times when face-to-face communication is most desirable. Settings such as public contact or training can be much more easily facilitated by oral communication. While not as fluidly answered as with speech, there are means to accommodate deaf employees as well as customers. For those with limited hearing, personal and group amplification systems are readily available at costs from under $100 to a few thousand. Telephone systems can be augmented with TTY (text telephone), also called TDD (Telecommunication Device for the Deaf). Computer programs are evolving faster than we can keep up. Currently, VRI (Video Remote Interpreting) is a sign language interpreting service available through internet companies across the country. Some even offer multiple-language to ASL interpreting. Such services can be utilized not only for communications over distance, but even within a single location.
Of course, there is always the option of a personal, certified ASL-English interpreter. This person accompanies the deaf person throughout the day (or specified time), facilitating communication with the hearing in any situation. The cost of a personal interpreter can range from $100/day up, depending on need and qualifications.
Tax Benefits for Accessibility
While the federal government won’t cover costs in most cases, there are substantial tax benefits in hiring deaf (or otherwise disabled) workers, purchasing equipment and making alterations for accessibility. According to the IRS, after the first $250, half of these expenses are returned as tax credit (with certain stipulations, of course). For employers hiring individuals with disabilities, “The Work Opportunity Credit provides eligible employers with a tax credit up to 40 percent of the first $6,000 of first-year wages of a new employee if the employee is part of a ‘targeted group.’ An employee with a disability is one of the targeted groups for the Work Opportunity Credit, provided the appropriate government agencies have certified the employee as disabled. The credit is available to the employer once the employee has worked for at least 120 hours or 90 days.”
Hearing People can Learn ASL
One method for overcoming the communication barrier for the deaf is not utilized nearly enough. Teaching hearing Americans to sign could virtually eliminate the need for interpreters and personal amplifiers. Schools in the US spend between $100,000 and $200,000 – sometimes more – each year to teach their students foreign languages. Most frequently learned are Spanish, French and German. These are taught with the intent to prepare students for the international market place.
Some say that thinking needs to be revised. According to the Gallaudet Research Institute, roughly 1 – 2% of the population of the United States is severely hearing impaired or deaf. While studies vary greatly, the estimated number of people who use ASL as their primary language is between 250,000 and 400,000. That is around 400,000 people who cannot reasonably communicate in spoken English. Diverting some of the effort to teach other spoken languages into teaching American Sign Language could open up worlds for this portion of the American population who cannot overcome these obstacles alone.
Until enough hearing people in the United States learn to communicate in ASL, there will continue to be barriers between the deaf and quality employment. Rarely is an issue one-sided. Those seeking employment must make themselves as fully qualified for the positions they seek as other competing applicants. On the other hand, employers are responsible for giving all applicants fair opportunity to fill open positions. Preference for verbal speech over technology is no excuse for subverting the law.
* Names have been changed to protect privacy.
Elizabeth Linehan - Elizabeth studied American Sign Language at Brigham Young University. She has worked with hearing impaired and multipli-handicapped ...
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