‘Companies lack an understanding’

And they’re particularly vulnerable to economic downturns. During the first year of the pandemic, employment declined among people with disabilities, in part because retail and hospitality businesses — which employ many disabled workers — shuttered or downsized operations. Numbers are rising this year, alongside employment in the broader population: Among the 60 million individuals who identify as disabled nationally, 19.1% were employed in 2021, up from 17.9% in 2020.

Connecticut officials and the state’s disability community are trying to tap into that momentum.

Last year, following broader national trends aimed at rooting out systemic discrimination, the Governor’s Workforce Council — a collaborative body of business leaders, educators, state agencies and nonprofits — created a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee tasked with closing employment gaps and providing support for vulnerable populations. That includes the formerly incarcerated, veterans, youth, people of color and individuals with disabilities.

Also last year, Connecticut passed a law calling on the Department of Economic and Community Development to establish a workforce development program that would “incentivize businesses to provide training programs, offer modified interviews and reserve market-rate, full-time jobs for persons with disabilities.” A draft of that plan was completed last month and is currently being circulated among lawmakers and advocates for feedback.

Among the findings included in the plan: “Companies lack an understanding of the scope of available talent and potential benefits associated with employing persons with disabilities.” One such benefit is the preference assigned in federal contracts to companies whose workforce includes at least 7% individuals with disabilities. Accommodations for such workers, the plan points out, typically cost $500 or less per employee — and most cost nothing.

The plan included goals such as improving coordination among state agencies serving people with disabilities; offering training services; boosting recruiting support for businesses; and improving data-gathering to better track outcomes.

Anthony Barrett, who leads the DEI committee, said recent trends in remote work have also presented “major opportunities” for the disability community.

“That’s a really great market to get more people tapped into jobs that are in tech and health care and some of the jobs that can be done from home,” Barrett said. “I think there’s opportunities for really upward mobility for job placement for persons with disabilities.”