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A.T. in the Workplace/Guide for Small Businesses
Small businesses need not fear ADA rules,
regulations
By Brian Werth, Hoosier Times
An informative handbook entitled Hiring and
Supporting People with Disabilities may help ease fears some
small companies might have about the Americans with Disabilities
Act. The booklet was released on June, 2003 by the Greater Bloomington
Chamber of Commerce.
The ADA, which has been around since 1990, is
still misunderstood by many. The chamber booklet spells out in a
concise manner the responsibilities businesses have under the ADA
and explains how easy and inexpensive it is to provide reasonable
accommodation.
Steve Howard, president of the Bloomington chamber,
believes the handbook will stimulate business owners and managers
to look at their work force in a different way to develop a work
environment that is better for everyone.
The booklet is available for free at the Bloomington
chamber office, 400 W. Seventh St., the Bloomington Human Rights
Commission office at 401 N. North St., and at Options for Better
Living, 214 S. College Ave.
One area of the seven-page publication provides
practical pointers that help apply the legalese of the ADA to real
life work situations. For example: Employers don't have to hire
someone with a disability over a more qualified person without a
disability. The ADA's goal is to give people equal opportunities,
not unfair advantages.
Funding is available to help offset the cost of
providing reasonable accommodations. Small businesses with either
$1 million or less in revenue or 30 or fewer full-time employees
may take a tax credit of up to $15,000 each year for the cost of
providing reasonable accommodations such as sign language interpreters,
the purchase of adaptive equipment or the removal of architectural
barriers. The credit is called the Small Business Tax Credit,
IRC Section 44: Disabled Access Credit.
Businesses that hire people from certain targeted
low-income groups, including people referred from vocational rehabilitation
agencies and people receiving Social Security income, may be eligible
for an annual tax credit of up to $2,400 for each qualifying employee
who works at least 400 hours a year.
Don't use safety concerns as a blanket excuse
for not hiring a person with a disability. Your employment decisions
need to be based on specific, substantiated concerns about a particular
person, not on myths, unsubstantiated fears or stereotypes, about
a person's ability to do the job safely.
For All Employers
Disability Employment 101: Learn to Tap Your 'HIRE' Potential
The U.S. Department of Education, in partnership with the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce, released a guidebook to acquaint business leaders with
programs and resources available to assist them in hiring people
with disabilities.
The jointly developed publication, "Disability
Employment 101: Learn to Tap Your 'HIRE' Potential," includes
information about how to find qualified workers with disabilities,
how to put disability and employment research into practice and
how to model what other businesses have done to successfully integrate
individuals with disabilities into the workforce.
Copies are available on-line and are also
available through the department's "ED Pubs" service on
the Web at http://www.edpubs.org/
or by phoning 1-877-4-ED-PUBS, faxing 1-301-470-1244 or writing
ED Pubs, P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD. 20794-1398
The Sierra Group
The Sierra Group assists businesses by finding technology accommodations
to keep employees with disabilities at their jobs, and The Sierra
Group helps job candidates re-enter the workplace with assistive
technology. Read how The Sierra Group provides diverse solutions
to help individuals achieve their full capabilities at: http://www.thesierragroup.com
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