Able To Work

Former California Congressman Tony Coelho was prevented from becoming a priest in the 1960s--but not because of a lack of faith in God or a failure to keep his vows. It was on account of his epilepsy, which made him unfit for the priesthood, according to ancient canon law that viewed epilepsy on the same level as demonic possession. Though disappointed that he was not able to achieve his holy orders, Coelho went on to a career in politics and on Wall Street, and today serves as chairman of ICF Kaiser Inc., a Fairfax, Va., environmental-engineering company.

Coelho takes heart in the fact that the U.S. today is more welcoming than it used to be for an estimated 30 million Americans who, like himself, must struggle to overcome some form of physical or mental disability. "We now have a fighting chance in the work force, and we are demanding our rights," says Coelho, who serves as chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities and was one of the primary authors of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. "There is still job discrimination out there, but the tide is turning."

Nine years after the passage of the ADA, which was designed to prohibit discrimination in the workplace against those with disabilities, the situation has changed for America's disabled--and for their employers. In large ways and small--but mostly small--American businesses have adapted themselves to make the disabled more welcome and productive. Such workplace accommodations often cost little and can be as simple as offering flexible work hours to an employee suffering from chronic depression, or buying a computer keyboard with all the control keys on one side for someone missing a hand. In general, most workplace accommodations cost less than $200 a person, according to James Geletka, executive director of the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America in Arlington, Va.

After voicing initial concerns about the potential cost, U.S. industry has shown itself more open to hiring people with disabilities--especially in the midst of the tightest labor market in memory. In 1994, the latest year for which U.S. Census Bureau statistics are available, some 3.7 million people with severe disabilities were at work, up from 2.9 million three years earlier. That said, there is still a long way to go. As the employment numbers also indicate, a large proportion of America's disabled population still has its nose pressed against the workplace window. Prejudice, lack of adequate transportation and physical barriers to employment are still common, contributing to a sense of discouragement among the disabled themselves. For instance, though exact numbers vary, experts cite a 1998 survey by Louis Harris & Associates that found only 30% of adults with disabilities to be employed full or part time, compared with nearly 80% of adults without disabilities. Nearly 6 out of 10 of those surveyed last year in Louis Harris' annual poll said the ADA had made no difference in their lives.

In a move to intensify the ADA's impact, the Federal Government is once again stepping in. Last March, President Bill Clinton created the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities, which presented its first report in December. "The report basically says that so much more needs to be done to help people with disabilities in the workplace," says Coelho, vice chair of the task force. The report's recommendations included tax changes to help people with disabilities pay for work-related expenses, a new program with the Small Business Administration to assist those who want to start their own businesses, a plea for passage of a Patients' Bill of Rights to assist in health care and a call to make the Federal Government a model employer of the disabled. In December, Vice President Al Gore announced an Executive Order approving two of the recommendations, those concerning the SBA and the Federal Government, says Becky Ogle, executive director of the task force. Putting these plans into action, says Ogle, will have a minimal cost, but no specific number can yet be attached to it.

Even without such incentives, however, some firms have been standouts in aiding the disabled to do their jobs. Marriott International of Bethesda, Md., has long been recognized for its efforts. One compelling reason for the company's stance: chairman J.W. Marriott Jr.'s son Steve, a Marriott vice president of employment marketing, is hearing and sight impaired. But Marriott executives emphasize that the policy has deeper roots than that. "Working with all people has just become a part of our corporate culture," says Brendan Keegan, Marriott's executive vice president of human resources. "We have found that people with disabilities are highly motivated and dedicated, with a strong element of job retention and less employee turnover."

Marriott project manager Preston Joyce, 36, who lost his right arm in a motorcycle accident at age 18 and wears a prosthesis, bolsters Keegan's assertions. Hired by the company in 1984, he is a technology specialist in the human resources department. He was one of the first in the company to get a computer with all the control keys on one side, plus small touches like a cubicle that organizes his equipment and supplies on his left side. "I'm looked at as an individual who does his job well, not as someone who is missing an arm," Joyce says. In the years he's been with Marriott, Joyce has received nine promotions and his salary has increased more than sixfold.