It might cost less than you think to accommodate employees with disabilities. For instance, employers typically spend $500 or less—often nothing!—to accommodate blind employees. Yet about 70% of blind working-age Americans are unemployed. Part of the problem is that many employers don’t know how to attract, hire, and retain disabled workers. The free reference guide Diversifying Your Workforce explains the business advantages of hiring disabled people. DEOMI provides observance presentations on National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

Follow up:

Here are a few tips and resources from the guide:
• Tax Benefits for Private Employers - Three types of tax incentives are available to help employers cover accommodation costs for employees with disabilities and/or to make their workplaces accessible.
• Employer Assistance and Resource Network (EARN) - EARN is a free, confidential service from the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy that connects employers seeking workers with qualified candidates with disabilities and offers technical assistance to employers on issues relating to hiring and employing individuals with disabilities.
• Interviewing Applicants with Disabilities - These tips can help employers prepare for and conduct successful interviews.
• Effective Interaction: Communicating With and About People with Disabilities in the Workplace - Employers and co-workers may be concerned that they will say the wrong thing, ask an inappropriate question, or unintentionally offend an applicant or colleague with a disability. This publication provides some excellent tips.

Learn more about National Employment Disability Awareness Month.