How to easily hire personnel with disabilities

4 of March, 2025

Hiring personnel with disabilities in the USA can be a straightforward process by leveraging the right resources and following legal guidelines. Employers should comply with the ADA and EEOC regulations while taking advantage of tax incentives like the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC).

Ensuring accessibility in job applications and interviews, providing reasonable accommodations, and fostering an inclusive workplace through training and Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are key steps. Additionally, businesses can benefit from financial incentives like the Disabled Access Credit and Architectural Barrier Removal Tax Deduction, making the hiring process both inclusive and cost-effective.

Defining the job position

As with any selection process, the first step will be to describe the job position to be filled by the person with the disability. The only difference with a conventional process is that we must analyze which disabilities are compatible with that position. This will allow us to make a good description of the necessary skills. For this, it is important to consider the following points:

• Company location and accessibility
• Job position location and accessibility within the company’s facilities
• Job activities
• Cognitive, motor or sensorial-cognitive requirements
• Endurance to work: duration of the workday, rhythm, and complexity
• Safety or environmental conditions

Recruiting: looking for employees with disabilities

One of the main differences in relation to a selection of personel without disabilities is where to search for candidates. The ideal is to broadcast the job offer on specialized job portals, organizations, or among your own employees. It’s always important to look at the candidate’s talent, education, and experience. These criteria should not be conditioned by the type of disability they have.

Evaluating candidates with disabilities

A frequent mistake in the selection process of personel with disabilities is putting more focus on limitations than on abilities. Like any other worker, the candidate’s evaluation should be based on their education and skills. If in doubt, you can always use the job interview to ask about specific situations. The company should also offer suitable means, irrespective of their disability, and the level of demand will be similar to the rest of the staff.

Onboarding employees with disabilities

Regardless of whether the employee has a disability or not: everyone needs time to adjust to their job. When recruiting personnel with disabilities, the onboarding process may take a little longer. However, it will be similar to that of any other employee: introduction to colleagues and facilities, job training, reinforcement of necessary knowledge, or monitoring. Initially, monitoring will be close up but progressively they will need to be given more space.

The process of hiring personnel with disabilities ends with this onboarding phase. Training colleagues, the supervisor, or the head of the area or section helps facilitate the new worker’s arrival into the company. Remember that not meeting the quota of employees with disabilities is punishable. The fine can amount to 6,000 euros per year per worker not hired or the lack of alternative measures. In addition, the company risks losing labor discounts, not receiving assistance or subsidies from the Administration, and not being able to contract with it.

Cristina Martin

People and Talent Director | LinkedIn | | Web | +post

Professional with over 20 years of extensive experience in various areas of Human Resources (Recruitment, Training, Occupational Risk Prevention, and Personnel Management). Experience in the Management Department: Broad understanding of the company and HR.

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