Thank you Brandi Fowler and LinkedIn News for the opportunity to talk about the affects of Long Covid in the workplace and its impact on the disability community. These are important conversations and folks living with Long Covid should be aware of their rights under the ADA.
#WorkplaceCulture #ReasonableAccomodations #Covid #Disabilities #DisabilityRights #DisabilityAdvocate #Disability #LongCovid #LinkedinNews
https://lnkd.in/ev2vqFBv
How The Twitter Layoffs Affect The Disability Community
The Twitter Logo with the quote “Twitter can not become the de facto Town Square Musk envisions at the expense of the accessibility that once made it great.” Attributed to Ryan Honick
If users want to emphasize how important the continued prioritization of accessibility actually is, we need to lean into one of the best parts about Twitter: how easy it makes it to amplify a cause.
-Alexa Heinrich, Adweek
For many disabled activists, Twitter has long been a place to connect, amplify, and create change. I owe much to a platform that allowed all of that to happen. Conversations with one-time virtual strangers turned into lifelong friends and allies, virtually and otherwise. The platform was never perfect, and detractors abound, but advocacy always faces pushback. Still, Twitter served as an important space where many found community and support as well as a direct line to key influencers; from journalists and brands to celebrities. Twitter was the first social network where it seemed accessibility was its foundation—in more ways than one.
Prior to layoffs, The Accessibility Experience Team was working on myriad projects focused on improving the user experience. For folks with visual disabilities, the team revamped its icons and automated reminders for the use of alt-text. The deaf community saw improvements with captions, and for those with sensory sensitivities Twitter updated its app sounds.
Unfortunately, all of that progress is poised to stop as Musk looks for ways to improve profitability following a number of high-profile advertisers rethinking their relationship with the platform. Companies including General Mills, Oreo company maker Mondelēz International and Pfizer Inc., have temporarily paused their Twitter advertising, according to The Wall Street Journal.
That pressure, coming from groups like Color Of Change, Free Press, the Anti-Defamation League, and GLAAD is the result of Musk haphazardly cutting teams dedicated to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access.
“We are witnessing the real-time destruction of one of the world’s most powerful communications systems,” Nicole Gill director of Accountable Tech told MarketWatch.
Sandra Sucher, a professor of management at Harvard University, told The New York Times Twitter’s cuts were among the most poorly handled that she had seen.
Speaking at an investment conference in New York Friday, Musk said: “Our goal is with Twitter, how do we get 80% of the public to join a digital town square and voice their opinion and exchange ideas and once in a while change their mind?”
With his latest actions, Musk is deliberately leaving out the 20% of the population with disabilities, setting Twitter up to become yet another inaccessible space where disabled people find ourselves unwelcome. Twitter can not become the de facto Town Square Musk envisions at the expense of the accessibility that once made it great.
Return to Office Policies Will Hurt The Disabled Workforce
The quote "No employee should be forced to choose between career advancement and their health where an accommodation exists to mitigate roadblocks." in all caps white lettering behind a faded background of a workstation with a chair and laptop.
“Remote work and remote-work options are something that our community has been advocating for for decades, and it’s a little frustrating that for decades corporate America was saying it’s too complicated, we’ll lose productivity, and now suddenly it’s like, sure, let’s do it,” said Charles-Edouard CATHERINE, director of corporate and government relations for the National Organization on Disability.
—Ben Casselman, The New York Times
A global pandemic made telework necessary. Nobody thought twice about it once the non-disabled workforce was threatened. At USPTO, an agency renowned for its telework program, I was initially asked to provide additional medical documentation in support of my request to modify my telework schedule as the pandemic emerged. Only after the pandemic was declared a national emergency was that request deemed superfluous.
Remote work remains a major victory for the disabled community and we are grateful for the attitudinal shift. As the New York Times points out, the increase in telework is a boon for disabled workers. A newly released study led by Adam Ozimek, Chief Economist at the Economic Innovation Group, found more than 35 percent of disabled Americans ages 18 to 64 had jobs in September. That was up from 31 percent just before the pandemic and is a record in the 15 years the government has kept track.
As long COVID continues to impact the workforce, telework represents a vital support system of opportunity. There were 1.05 million more disabled working-age Americans in August 2022 compared to January 2020, according to data compiled by Richard Deitz, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Axios reports.
However, despite the enormous win of telework, societally, we have short memories. The return to office efforts many companies are pushing highlights the all-too-pervasive ableist attitudes of many employers. The recent The Wall Street Journal article “The New Rules For Getting Face Time at the Office” notes that while adjustments are being made to accommodate the hybrid nature of pandemic work, there remains an unfair advantage for in-office workers.
“It’s all about being more salient in the boss’s mind,” Jeffrey Pfeffer professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, told WSJ. “Whether it’s fair, you’re increasing your chances of landing high-profile assignments, raises and promotions, simply because your name pops into the heads of those making decisions.”
This divide ultimately leads to disabled employees feeling like second-class citizens in our own jobs. No employee should be forced to choose between career advancement and their health where an accommodation exists to mitigate roadblocks. Leadership needs to make concerted efforts to engage employees and provide equal opportunity regardless of where the work is being done.
Disability and Disclosure in the. Workplace
Ryan Honick wearing a sky blue dress shirt, red tie, glasses, and headphones presents via Zoom to members of MGMI about reasonable accommodations and disability disclosure in the workplace on 10.22.22
A huge thank you to Susan Woolner, Lisa Gigliotti, and everyone at the Michigan Chapter of Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America, Inc. for the opportunity to present this morning on navigating disability and reasonable accommodations in the workplace. An incredibly important conversation during #NDEAM and beyond.
Event Recap: Diversability Unplugged: Disability and Ableism in the Workplace
Event Recap: Diversability Unplugged: Disability and Ableism in the Workplace
Thank you to Tiffany A. Yu, MSc, Whitney Bailey, katherine lewis, Arielle Dance, PhD and the team at Diversability® for inviting me to speak on Disability and Ableism in the workplace for #ndeam. An evening of thought-provoking discussion and insights with powerhouse panelists Jacob Levy, Lusik Gasparyan, JD, RBT and Angela Fowler.
If you missed it, the recap and recording are now live!
Event Recap: Diversability Unplugged: Disability and Ableism in the Workplace
#workplace #hiring #disabilityAwareness #Disability #Ableism #disabilityInclusion #DEIA #DEI #ReasonableAccommodations
How Do You Disclose a Disability During a Job Search?
Thank you Lora Korpar and the team at LinkedIn for the opportunity to be a voice on this important topic!
The Ableist Discourse Around John Fetterman’s Stroke
“What is so harmful about seeing what's happened to John Fetterman is that he's actually experiencing what many disabled people experience every day when we ask for accommodations,” Maria Town, President and CEO of American Association of People with Disabilities added, “which is an instant doubt of our competence and a questioning about whether, you know, ‘Can you really do this job?’”
-David Mack, BuzzFeed
Watching John Fetterman’s interview with Dasha Burns of NBC News highlighted in real-time how pervasive ableism is in our culture. In a tight senate race that should be focused on issues, Burns chose instead to emphasize Fetterman’s need for accommodations, questioning his fitness for office over a chance to spotlight policy during a prime-time interview Tuesday night.
For his part, Lester Holt introduced the segment calling it, “Not your typical candidate interview,” placing additional focus on Fetterman’s disability.
NBC is clearly gunning for the #NDEAM Awards.
Burns has since backtracked saying, “Our reporting did not and should not comment on fitness for office. This is for voters to decide.” Voters are persuaded by news coverage, and as a journalist, her coverage irresponsibly perpetuated myths surrounding the competence of disabled people seeking employment, particularly when reasonable accommodations are involved.
Adding fuel to the fire were Burns’ additional queries surrounding Fetterman’s health, implying the medical documentation supplied by his team was outdated and asking, “Don't voters deserve to know your status now?” While voters have become accustomed to candidates running for high political office releasing medical records, there are no established norms concerning what those records should include. The one constant for disabled job seekers is that we are routinely asked to provide information and documentation far above that of our non-disabled colleagues simply to prove fitness, both for the job and any related accommodations.
Barriers are constantly placed in front of us to to earn our place at the table. Those barriers are difficult to overcome with Implicit biases about disabled people being incredibly pervasive. A 2007 study led by Brian Nosek, a Professor of Psychology at University of Virginia found "[p]reference for people without disability compared to people with disabilities was among the strongest implicit and explicit effects across the social group domains" with only age showing more implicit bias. Significantly, 76 percent of respondents showed an implicit preference for people without disabilities, compared to nine percent for people with disabilities." NBC put those biases front and center for a national audience.
Thankfully media personalities like Comedy Central/The Daily Show host Trevor N. aren’t afraid to call out ableism. We need more allies like him. His impending departure leaves big shoes to fill.
#disability #politics #employment
Rootbound Episode 41: Soybean
So much fun talking with my friend Steve Ellington on the latest episode of Rootbound. We took a deep dive into one of my favorite plants, the soybean, discussing dazzling details, fun facts, and its amazing versatility in our lives. Plus, how the soybean connects to one one of my dad's (Craig Honick) favorite musicians.
episode 041: Soybean!
#plants #rootbound #podcasting #soybean #musicians
How To Spot The Best Disability Friendly Workplaces
Last summer I applied for a job with a federal agency. After a panel interview and a reference check, I received a tentative offer letter with pertinent details related to the role; salary, duty station, start date etc. I was told prior to my official onboarding I needed to undergo an additional background check after accepting the position as outlined in my offer letter.
Reading over it, I noticed no mention of telework or remote work options despite being told during my interview that the agency remained in a maximum telework posture.
I followed up with the agency and spoke with my future boss relaying my enthusiasm for joining the team, and disclosed my need for telework as a reasonable accommodation.
“I’d follow up with H.R. about that,” she said.
After several e-mails back and forth, the H.R. Specialist continually refused to acknowledge my request that telework be included in my offer letter prior to signing. As I was not an employee yet, I was told a potential telework schedule could be discussed with my supervisor only after onboarding.
My request for telework became a game of finger pointing and an impossible Catch-22.
This lack of imagination led to my decision to ultimately decline a role that I was otherwise excited to begin.
From this encounter I learned my most valuable lesson as a disabled job candidate. It’s something that I lean into deeply during interviews.
When you make a personal disclosure about a disability to an employer, you’re telling them one thing about you.
How they respond tells you everything you need to know about them.
It’s an amazing sorting hat. Use it.
#jobhunting #ndeam #disabilityawareness #disability #deia #DEI
Action over Optics During NDEAM
Dawn Gibson, Christina Miller, and April Thompson
We’re less than a week into National Disability Employment Awareness Month. The stories of companies talking about the value of diversity, equity, inclusion, and access are everywhere. The truth that far too many of us in the disability community know however, is that for many of them, the goal is optics over action. Looking past the check-the-box mentality employed by so many and digging deeper we recognize awareness of disability employment (or the lack of it) is not really the issue. Apathy and indifference, however, are rampant.
-A woman went viral on TikTok after exposing her employer for not accommodating her for her dyslexia and ADHD, The Daily Dot reports.
-A worker with a back condition was fired from Virginia-based Resource Metrix after she requested an ergonomic chair, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, in a story published by The News & Observer Publishing Company.
-Walt Disney World, is under fire after a Cast Member took them to task in a public Facebook/Meta post for refusing to accommodate her Cerebral Palsy.
These are not isolated instances. Rather, they represent a small fraction of the injustices faced by disabled people in the workplace every day. Further, they underscore what can often feel like a Sisyphean task for the disabled community. Not only do we struggle to find employment, but due to a lack of employer empathy and understanding around reasonable accommodations, we struggle to keep it.
To combat the stigma, many of us don’t disclose, opting instead to work without accommodations and subsequently struggle to perform. Paradoxically, this often leads to being fired, perpetuating the myth that disabled people aren’t cut out for gainful employment. All of this while we watch leadership in our organization tout disability awareness and inclusion from the rooftops.
Meanwhile, the effects of long COVID continue impacting the workforce.
Up to 4 million people are estimated to be out of work because of long COVID symptoms, according to The Brookings Institution's August report.
Between Sept. 14 and Sept. 26, more than one in four adults with long COVID reported significant limitations on day-to-day activities, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
The number jumps closer to 40% for respondents who are Black, Latino or disabled — three groups disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
Employers must do better providing accommodations for employees. 1). It’s the law. 2) As the disability population increases, the demand for them will skyrocket. There’s no turning back and employers need to brace for that eventuality.
Our unique perspectives solve organizational challenges, they don’t create them.
H/t Fiona Lowenstein of Business Insider for this resource.
How to ask for ADA health accommodations at your job, according to 5 workers who have
#leadership #work #disabilityawareness #ndeam #resonableaccommodations #deia #disability