Getting hired not easy for disabled

February 8, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

McClatchy Newspapers

FORT WORTH, Texas — Michael Blazek, an out-of-work financial analyst who’s visually impaired, has one way to confront hiring managers’ questions about whether he can do the job. He brings his tools to the interview.

Small enough to fit in his suit pockets, they include a magnifying glass, a monocular he uses to look at projections on a wall and an electronic magnifier that can blow up images 16 times. He also has a laptop with a magnifying program and closed-caption TV technology that allows him to work on spreadsheets.

“The company will not have to pay for anything,” said Blazek, 47, of Irving, Texas, who nearly two years ago lost his job at a major telecommunications company after more than 20 years of moving up the ladder there.

The questions of how well they can perform and what accommodations employers might have to make are big elephants in the room for disabled job-seekers, but they aren’t the only issues. Though the downturn might be easing, it’s worse for job-seekers with disabilities than just about any other segment of the work force. An estimated 13.8 percent of disabled job-seekers were unemployed in December, nearly 4 points higher than the work force overall, federal data showed.

Issues that face all job-seekers are bigger for people with disabilities: an impenetrable online application wall, employers requiring broader skill sets from new hires and little turnover at once-reliable employers such as grocery stores. With dwindling job choices, access to transportation — a big issue for the disabled — is even more critical. And federal laws that restrict questions that employers can ask candidates about their disabilities have stretched the patience of many hiring managers and ended up hurting the disabled, job- seekers and many people who help place them say.

“The law puts them in a position where they would rather not deal with a disabled person and move on to someone else,” Blazek said.

Is the job market getting any better for people with disabilities?

“It’s hard to tell,” Kathleen Martinez, assistant labor secretary for disability employment policy, said.

“The economy is in bad shape,” said Martinez, who is blind. “Typically, disabled people are the last hired and the first let go. Many times, we’re not considered valid breadwinners. We’re considered charity.”

Federal data are sketchy. Less than a quarter of disabled adults participate in the labor force compared with more than 70 percent for other adults.