By Guest Blogger Kevin A. Lynch, President and Chief Executive Officer of National Industries for the Blind (NIB), Disability Blog, August 24, 2011
Since the passage of the Wagner-O’Day Act in 1938, people who are blind have been a major part of the U.S. labor force by creating quality products for the federal government and military. This contribution to the manufacturing boom after the Great Depression and during World War II was decades before the signing of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The federal market was opened to people who are blind, because they proved their capability to manufacture and deliver quality supplies on time at fair market prices. Even without the convenience of today’s assistive technology, people who are blind possessed the abilities and skills to do their jobs well, exceeding the expectations of the U.S. federal government.
Today, thanks to modern developments in assistive technology, people who are blind have a wide range of career options. However, the unemployment rate among working age Americans who are blind still hovers around 70 percent. Why is this?
One issue is that employers assume they will have to invest lots of money to arrange a work environment that is conducive to people who are blind. In reality, the cost of accommodations is often nominal. Data from the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) indicates that most accommodations for people who are blind or visually impaired cost less than $500. In fact, 50 percent of the accommodations required to set-up a barrier-free work station cost less than $50 and 31 percent cost nothing!
A national survey conducted by the Office of Disability Employment Policy on consumer attitudes toward companies that hire people with disabilities indicated that 92 percent of the American public views companies that hire people with disabilities more favorably than those that do not, and 87 percent would prefer to give their business to companies that hire people with disabilities.
I encourage companies to consider this information when making informed decisions about the modest investment required to accommodate this underutilized labor resource.
For more than 30 years, I have worked with people who are blind and have had the opportunity to experience firsthand their exceptional capabilities while employed in competitive and challenging career fields. From a business standpoint, employing people with visual impairments increases the potential for tax incentives and promotes diversity, employee morale, inclusion and fairness in employment hiring practices, which increases the overall integrity and strength of a company. From a community perspective, it encourages social interaction, breaks down barriers among cultures and classes, supports positive self-esteem, influences socialization and brings together businesses and communities.
While assistive technology has made available a wide range of employment opportunities for people who are blind to continue to be productive, goal-oriented, tax-paying U.S. citizens, there is still more work to be done. Educating employers and the community is a key factor in understanding how people who are blind can seamlessly fit into and significantly contribute to the workforce with considerably greater benefits to the employer than the cost of accommodation.
Kevin A. Lynch is President and CEO of National Industries for the Blind (NIB). For more than 30 years, he has dedicated his career to developing and advancing employment opportunities for people who are blind. Under his leadership, NIB and its network of 90 associated nonprofit agencies nationwide have increased employment opportunities for people who are blind, generating 528 new jobs in FY 2010 and increasing AbilityOne Program sales to a record $660.8 million in FY 2010. Mr. Lynch has overseen expansion of SKILCRAFT® product development with more than 3,500 offerings, creation of new services such as Contract Management Support (CMS) contract closeout services, growth of the Base Supply Center (BSC) program with more than 140 stores nationwide and implementation of a long-term, integrated strategic planning effort.