ODDC- National Organization on Disability/Harris Survey, Employment, June 10, 2004

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TITLE: National Organization on Disability/Harris Survey, Employment, June 10, 2004 http://www.nod.org/pdffiles/harris2004/harris2004_data.pdf

Introduction and Kathy’s note: "Progress is too slow, and the gaps are still too large," said National Organization on Disability President Alan A. Reich. "Looking back four years, or ten years, to our earlier N.O.D./Harris surveys, we see Americans with disabilities heading in the right direction. But people with disabilities remain pervasively disadvantaged. Our goal of full participation is a dream deferred." The new survey, conducted by research group Harris Interactive, tallied responses from more than 2,000 phone and online interviews. Margin of error is 3 percentage points. The survey, administered to both people with disabilities and those without, examines eight aspects of life. I have decided to break down the survey into seven two-page reports.

Current employment: When asked about current employment, 18% of people with disabilities worked full-time for an employer or themselves while 55% of those without disabilities fit the category; 10% of people with disabilities worked part-time for an employer or themselves, while 13% of those without disabilities did. With regard to unemployment, 15% of people with disabilities said they were unemployed, versus 8% of those without. Thirty-three percent of people with disabilities were retired, while 16% of those without disabilities were retired. Interestingly the report does not state if the people who were retired became disabled before or after they retired. Of those who were not employed, 63% of people with disabilities preferred to be working, as opposed to 42% of people without disabilities. For people who were disabled and preferred to work, the majority (67%) cited their health problem or disability as the reason for being unemployed; 8% could not find a job that would accommodate their disability; 2% were afraid that they might lose their benefits and 22% cited another reason.

Discrimination: Of the people who were employed full or part-time and had a disability, only 22% felt that they had encountered job discrimination because of their disability or health problem. Of those who have felt they have experienced discrimination, 27% said they that were refused an interview because of their disability; 31% reported that they were refused a job because of their disability, 17% said they did not get a job promotion because of their disability; 14% were given less responsibility than their co-workers; 21% were denied a workplace accommodation; 12% were paid less than other workers in similar jobs with similar skills; 4% were denied health insurance; 6% were denied other work-related benefits and 25% cited some other kind of discrimination.

Federal Employment programs: When asked if they heard of Workforce Investment Act One-Stop Centers, 42% of those with disabilities said that they have, compared to 41% of those without disabilities. Of those who have heard of one-stop centers, 26% of those without disabilities said that they have used the program in their state, while 22% of people with disabilities made the same claim.