Supporting Employer Initiatives to Recruit and Retain Employees with Disabilities

On the 22nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Kessler Foundation and the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development released a research brief on ways that companies have successfully increased their percentage of employees with disabilities and its effects on their bottom line. The brief, entitled, Strategies to Support Employer-Driven Initiatives to Recruit and Retain Employees with Disabilities, uses examples of Walgreens and Lowe's and how they partnered with local service providers to recruit qualified people with disabilities and assist with accommodations, made their workplaces more universally accessible, and integrated their workforce. As a result, businesses increased productivity and employee morale, which improved the bottom line. Lowe's diversified its workforce to include more people with disabilities through the National Organization on Disability's (NOD) Bridges to Business program, funded by Kessler Foundation.

The report on expanding employment for people with disabilities is authored by Elaine E. Katz, vice president of grant programs and special initiatives at Kessler Foundation, Meg O'Connell, vice president for corporate programs at NOD, and Robert B. Nicholas, PhD, senior visiting fellow for disability employment at the Heldrich Center.