Disability Workplace Settings Explained
This is a topic gaining more awareness in the mainstream news, but there is still much confusion surrounding business’ use of the term “inclusive.” Companies often claim their inclusiveness, but when you analyze the workplace settings and factors against the descriptions below you may be surprised to learn a business that gets news coverage for being “inclusive” is actually far from it.
There is a continuum of workplace settings where people with disabilities work so let’s get to it.
Workplaces for People with Intellectual Disabilities
Unemployed
Before we begin, we unfortunately have to start with unemployment. According to the most comprehensive study done on U.S. adults with disabilities in the workforce, the unemployment rate for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is more than double the unemployment rate of those without disabilities (21% compared to less than 8%). 1
And by unemployed we mean what the U.S. Department of Labor means; someone who is unemployed is a person who is currently jobless, looking for jobs, and available for work.
Volunteering
Many people with IDD resort to volunteer work when they are unable to secure paid employment. Volunteer work is a good stepping stone for building foundational job skills, but it is important to note that a person with IDD should never volunteer in a role for which those without disabilities are paid. The same, specific tasks that comprise volunteer work should indeed be volunteer work for those without and with disabilities.
Paid Employment Settings
Workers in the below workplace settings are compensated for their work, but how much money and who they work with vary. No matter which setting they work in, however, people with IDD are almost always underemployed (i.e. not working full-time and/or earn less than the minimum wage)2. We’ll look at the settings from the least to most amount of required support.
Competitive, Integrated Employment
Many typical students go on to work in competitive employment post-high school graduation. Think of Competitive, Integrated Employment as the equivalent for workers with disabilities. A person with IDD secures employment in their community by responding to job postings or proactively seeking employment (sometimes an outside agency may help prepare the person for competitive work, but it’s temporary and short-term). The person with the disability maintains employment without assistance or support. This setting could also include those who are self-employed.
Let’s look at the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014 which was designed to help job seekers access employment, training, education, and support services in the labor market. This will help us better understand competitive, integrated employment and the remaining three workplace settings below.
“The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) defines competitive integrated employment as work that is performed on a full-time or part-time basis for which an individual is: (a) compensated at or above minimum wage and comparable to the customary rate paid by the employer to employees without disabilities performing similar duties and with similar training and experience; (b) receiving the same level of benefits provided to other employees without disabilities in similar positions; (c) at a location where the employee interacts with other individuals without disabilities; and (d) presented opportunities for advancement similar to other employees without disabilities in similar positions.”3
Supported Employment
People with IDD work in regular jobs in the community that people without disabilities hold as well. They receive on-going or long-term assistance from a job coach. The job coach typically works with the person full-time to begin with and decreases support to periodic job site visits, for example, to assist in training for a new assignment. The person with IDD works with other individuals without disabilities and has the same opportunities for advancement as noted above. There may be other employees at the company who have disabilities, but the percentages of people with and without disabilities are representative of the percentages in the general population.
Segregated Employment
A person with IDD may work in a community setting and earn minimum or above minimum wage, but there are key differences that make a workplace setting shift from supported employment to segregated employment. In segregated employment, a person with IDD works with mostly others who also have disabilities and they do not have the same opportunities for advancement as an employee without a disability in a similar position. So if the majority of the employees at a particular business or company have disabilities and they are not advancing into managerial roles like their non-disabled peers, chances are it is segregated employment. These segregated settings have become popularized and highlighted in the media in recent years. You’ve probably seen them – think of the businesses like cafes and coffee shops that hire almost all people with disabilities.
Sheltered Employment
Sheltered employment or Work Activity Centers are the more recent way of referring to sheltered workshops. This setting provides vocational training without the integration of non-disabled workers. This setting is in a protected environment and workers are paid according to a comparative rate (related to how much a worker without a disability can accomplish in the same amount of time) set by the Department of Labor.
What does the Future Hold?
Right now, we can all feel the post-pandemic employment shortage. We all see it too. It seems anytime you are out in the community “now hiring” and “work here!” signs are plastered in front of nearly every business. But will these businesses expand their talent pool to interview and ultimately hire someone with an intellectual disability? Will we see a rise in the percentage of people with IDD in competitive, integrated employment? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
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Citations:
1. Siperstein, G. N., Parker, R. C., & Drascher, M. (2013). National Snapshot of adults with intellectual disabilities in the Labor Force. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 39(3), 157–165. https://doi.org/10.3233/jvr-130658
2. Siperstein, Parker, & Drascher, National Snapshot of adults with intellectual disabilities in the Labor Force.
3. US Department of Labor. 2022. Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE). [online] Available at: <https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/program-areas/integrated-employment> [Accessed 23 May 2022].
