[blindlaw] FW: The Wall Street Journal: When It Comes to Hiring, Blind Workers Face Bias

Wed Mar 20 20:16:37 UTC 2013

Susan:

During my 23 active years of prosecution and criminal defense work, I was
asked the questions you mention.

I would usually ask the person to blindfold themselves and try getting
through one day of work, then come tell me how they would answer their
questions were they blind.

Not one of them did it, not one of them offered to do it and not one of them
ever replied.

Dan McBride

-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Susan Kelly
Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 1:31 PM
To: Blind Law Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: The Wall Street Journal: When It Comes to
Hiring, Blind Workers Face Bias

The public truly does have many misconceptions that need to be corrected at
every opportunity.  I am lucky that I was already employed when things went
from bad to much worse vision-wise, but the reaction of
co-workers and others at court was astounding.   Otherwise intelligent
and compassionate people asked me such questions as "how long will they let
you keep working?" and "why don't you just kick back and collect the SSI
benefits?"  As a young woman with student loan debts, a newish house, and
most importantly, a brain and self-respect, it has been difficult to avoid
questioning their intellectual abilities!

-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Rod
Alcidonis, Esq.
Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 11:00 AM
To: Blind Law Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: The Wall Street Journal: When It Comes to
Hiring,Blind Workers Face Bias

The study did not tell me much I did not know. I always know that companies
have been putting up a show by hiring a few blind employees to make
themselves look good but not really because the person was the "most
qualified for the job." It hurts when one knows that he/she did not get a
job and it was because of his/her blindness and not due to a lack of
qualification. I have been there and it feels terrible.

The organized blind movements must seriouslly consider enhancing the
approach at educating the public about blindness to also focus on
employment. There is a serious lack of understanding out there. Crazy.

Rod Alcidonis, Esq.
Alcidonis Law Office
2824 Cottman Avenue
Suite 15
Philadelphia, PA 19149
O: (215) 305-8085
Attorney at alcidonislaw.com
www.alcidonislaw.com

Personal injury, Immigration, and No-fault divorce/custody -----Original
Message-----
From: Michael Fry
Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 11:43 AM
To: Blind Law Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: The Wall Street Journal: When It Comes to
Hiring, Blind Workers Face Bias

An interesting article.  Thanks for posting it.  The reality is that a
visually impaired person trying to get hired has an uphill battle that is
almost unimaginable to most of the general work force.

I have a job as a government attorney.  I am so grateful for it.  I'm
leaving it, however, since I'm moving because my wife was accepted into a
great business school across the country.  I am so worried that I won't find
another job, especially as an attorney.

When I weight all the factors, it's clear that she and I are making the
right move.  Nonetheless, this terrible anxiety about finding a new job is a
direct result of my visual impairment.  If I had normal vision, finding a
new job would be so much easier than it is going to be because of my visual
impairment.

Has anyone ever had the experience of going from practicing law to the
Business Enterprise Program?  Is any one in the business enterprise program?
If so, what is your experience with it?  How much money does a BEP person
make?

Mike

On Wed, Mar 20, 2013 at 6:02 AM, Norman, Gary C. (CMS/OSORA) <
Gary.Norman at cms.hhs.gov> wrote:

>
>
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: aavia at googlegroups.com [mailto:aavia at googlegroups.com] On 
> >Behalf Of Barrett, Pshon (USAMSS)
> >Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 8:59 AM
> >To: aavia at googlegroups.com
> >Subject: FW: The Wall Street Journal: When It Comes to Hiring, Blind
> Workers
> >Face Bias
> >
> >
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: FedAccessibility at yahoogroups.com 
> >[mailto:FedAccessibility at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Jamal Mazrui
> >Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 4:37 PM
> >To: 'fedaccessibility at yahoogroups.com'
> >(fedaccessibility at yahoogroups.com)
> >Subject: [FedAccessibility] FW: The Wall Street Journal: When It 
> >Comes to Hiring, Blind Workers Face Bias
> >
> >
> >
> >The Wall Street Journal: When It Comes to Hiring, Blind Workers Face 
> >Bias
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >When It Comes to Hiring, Blind Workers Face Bias
> >
> >
> >The Wall Street Journal
> >
> >*         March 18, 2013, 10:27 AM
> >
> >
> >
> >By Leslie Kwoh
> >
> >When it comes to hiring blind employees, many employers remain
skeptical.
> >
> >Bosses often assume blind workers cost more and produce less, 
> >according to a new study. They also believe blind workers are more 
> >prone to workplace accidents and less reliable than other workers.
> >The study, scheduled to be released this week by the nonprofit 
> >National Industries for the Blind, polled 400 human-resources and 
> >hiring managers
> at
> >a mix of large and small U.S.-based companies. The group commissioned

> >the survey, in part, to shed light on why roughly 70% of the 3.5 
> >million
> people
> >working-age Americans are not employed. (Legally blind Americans are 
> >eligible for Social Security disability, according to NIB.)
> >
> >NIB president and chief executive Kevin Lynch described the survey 
> >results as a "terrible surprise." With the exception of certain jobs 
> >that require driving or steering, "there are very few jobs that a 
> >person who's blind
> is not
> >capable of doing," he says.
> >
> >
> >
> >The findings reveal a disconnect between what employers say and what 
> >they do. While the majority of executives claim they want to hire and

> >train disabled workers, many view blind workers as an inconvenience.
> >
> >Hiring managers tended to be slightly more negative than 
> >human-resources managers, but overall results were similar.
> >
> >*         Among hiring managers, most respondents (54%) felt there
were
> few
> >jobs at their company that blind employees could perform, and 45% 
> >said accommodating such workers would require "considerable expense."
> >
> >*         Forty-two percent of hiring managers believe blind
employees
> need
> >someone to assist them on the job; 34% said blind workers are more 
> >likely
> to
> >have work-related accidents.
> >
> >*         One-quarter of respondents said blind employees are "more
> sensitive"
> >than other employees; the same percentage said they were "more 
> >difficult to supervise."
> >
> >*         Twenty-three percent of hiring managers said blind
employees
> are not
> >as productive as their colleagues, and 19% believe these employees 
> >have a higher absentee rate.
> >
> >Blindness is largely absent from corporate conversation about 
> >employees with disabilities with the exception of sporadic lawsuits:
> >Last August, Hawaiian Electric Co. agreed
> ><http://finance.yahoo.com/news/hawaiian-
> >electric-settle-discrimination-lawsuit-140923965.html>  to pay
> >$50,000 to settle a discrimination suit by a partially blind 
> >employee, the AP
> reported.
> >And in December, Bloomberg reported that a blind ex-banker at the 
> >Royal Bank of Scotland Group 
> ><http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=RBS.LN
> >>  lost a suit <http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-12-11/blind-
> >banker-loses-rbs-discrimination-lawsuit-at-u-dot-k-dot-tribunal>  
> >banker-loses-rbs-discrimination-lawsuit-at-u-dot-k-dot-tribunal> seek 
> >banker-loses-rbs-discrimination-lawsuit-at-u-dot-k-dot-tribunal> ing
> >disability benefits.
> >
> >Rarer still is news about companies like apparel business SustainU, 
> >based
> in
> >West Virginia, which hires blind and visually impaired employees to 
> >man
> its
> >factory, according to the New York Times
> ><http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/business/sustainu-an-apparel-
> >maker-turns-to-blind-workers.html?_r=0> . The company said there was 
> >no difference in the cost and quality of its goods when compared to 
> >that of other U.S. manufacturers.
> >
> >Companies may have to invest some money to provide "reasonable 
> >accommodations" for a blind employee, as required by the Americans 
> >with Disabilities Act. However,  says NIB's Lynch, many computers and

> >smartphones already have built-in features that enable users to 
> >change
> font
> >size and light intensity. Installing voice technology that allows
> computers to
> >"read" text to a blind employee costs just $1,500 to $2,000, he says.

> >The American Foundation for the Blind has estimated 
> ><http://www.afb.org/section.aspx?FolderID=2&SectionID=7&TopicID=116&S
> >ubTopicID=70&DocumentID=2887>  that 88% of employee accommodations 
> >cost less than $1,000.
> >
> >As for health insurance, company rates are determined by the number 
> >of incidents among the entire group - not individual employees - no 
> >evidence suggests that blind employees incur more costs than other
workers, Mr.
> >Lynch says.
> >
> >Blind employees may also be more loyal than most, he adds. A DePaul 
> >University study 
> ><http://www.disabilityworks.org/downloads/disabilityworksDePaulStudyC
> >o mprehensiveResults.pdf>  from 2007 found that employees with 
> >disabilities were likely to stay on the job four months longer, on 
> >average, than employees without disabilities.
> >
> >The study also found that workers with disabilities took 1.24 fewer 
> >scheduled absences than non-disabled workers during a six-month
period.
> >But they took, on average, 1.13 more days of unscheduled absences.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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