BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : MARCH 20, 2000 ISSUE
SPECIAL REPORT Commentary: A Kind Act Indeed On July 26, 1990, when former President George Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), I was on the White House lawn, standing between Senators George Mitchell (D-Me.) and Bob Dole (R-Kan.). I had been invited because of my work as an advocate and writer on disability issues. And with a little elbowing I squeezed my way up to the front. There was an exhilarating feeling in the air. Disabled people everywhere truly believed the law would change America. I, too, was full of hope. As someone with a stutter, I got the door slammed in my face when I first went to look for a job in the 1960s. Managers from IBM, Sears Roebuck, and Esso (now Exxon) would look me in the eye and say: ''I won't hire you because you stutter.'' After many painful rejections, I wondered if I would ever get a job. My college education seemed like a waste of time. That dismissive and ignorant attitude still exists. Last year, an editor asked me: ''Do you write the way you stutter?'' Despite the best economy in decades, 75% of American adults with disabilities who are of working age remain jobless. FACT OF LIFE. Still, I see a more receptive, inclusive America now--more willing to see me as a co-worker and a person and less as a guy who takes a bit longer to say what's on his mind. That wouldn't have happened without the ADA. By mandating change, the federal government made accessibility features in public buildings and in workplaces a fact of life. With more of the disabled in the mainstream, the prejudices are starting to erode. Now, other barriers must fall. Most older buildings can be made accessible, but many aren't. Public transportation is much improved for the disabled, but still has a way to go--for example, officials should be cracking down on bus drivers who decline to call out stops for the blind. We need stronger educational programs that integrate disabled students with the rest and a public-private partnership to create jobs by providing assistive technology to disabled persons. The myth lives on that accommodating disabled workers will bankrupt small businesses. Fact is, 80% of job accommodations cost less than $500 per employee, according to the Jobs Accommodations Network. And people with disabilities aren't immobile but can now travel like every other global-economy worker--since trains, buses, cabs, and planes are more accessible. Airports have telecommunications devices for the deaf. Travel schedules are now even produced on cassette tapes for the blind. ECONOMIC BOOST. Yes, these measures cost money. Accessibility features for a new building add an average 2% to construction costs. But such costs are offset by the economic advantages of an expanded market of disabled consumers, who now number 54 million, with $175 billion in disposable income, according to the Commerce Dept. Along with their improving status comes a better public image. McDonald's (MCD), Wal-Mart Stores (WMT), and Snap.Com use sign-language interpreters in their TV ads. American Airlines (AMR) features a one-legged skier, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) a blind computer programmer. General Motors Corp. (GM) shows a man in a wheelchair fishing--with one of GM's accessible vans waiting nearby. As physical barriers have fallen, psychological ones are under attack. These days, corporate diversity training includes sessions on disability awareness and employment. And for the first time in history, temporary-employment agencies are placing people with disabilities. It's a long way from the days when disabled people were considered to be possessed by demons. Now that we have cleared the first hurdle with the help of the ADA, let's keep going. Putting disabled people to work will save taxpayers money, help the full-employment economy, and, most of all, give many good people the sense of esteem that can come only from a job. By John Williams John Williams writes a weekly column for Business Week Online. He can be reached at JMMAW@aol.com. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS The New Workforce TABLE: Where the Door Is Open Enabling Technologies Artificial Eyes, Turbine Hearts TABLE: Spare Body Parts for Tomorrow Commentary: A Kind Act Indeed ONLINE ORIGINAL: Vinton Cerf on How the Net Aids the Disabled INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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