[blindlaw] FW: The Wall Street Journal: When It Comes to Hiring, Blind Workers Face Bias
wmodnl wmodnl
wmodnl at hotmail.com
Thu Mar 21 12:47:30 UTC 2013
Two thoughts here:
We are out educating a public, country, and world, that refuses change, or the voices of the quiet to become herd. Also, I think organizations and some individuals are needing to change there focus. Of which needs to be fully determined. There is to much divide within the blindness community.
Have a great day.
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 20, 2013, at 4:20 PM, "Daniel McBride" <dlmlaw at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> 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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>>
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