Able To Work

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Those with psychiatric disabilities have had a much harder time being accepted by corporate America. A big reason is that mental ailments are often still kept under wraps. An employer may not even be aware that someone has a mental illness until a difficulty arises on the job. But the biggest problem remains old-fashioned fear. "There is still an enormous apprehension in hiring people with psychiatric disabilities, for fear that they will go out of control," says Ellen Gussaroff, a New York City psychoanalyst who estimates that about one-third of her patients have had problems on the job. "But there are people with chronic mental illness who are very capable of doing good work with the right accommodations."

To address this, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission in 1997 issued guidelines to help employers define mental disabilities under the ADA and provide them with assistance. But some critics say these were not enough. "The guidelines did not help clear up the confusion that's out there, and did not really apply to what goes on in the real world," says Michael Lotito, managing partner in the San Francisco law firm of Jackson Lewis, which represents management in labor disputes. EEOC Commissioner Paul Miller counters that the guidelines did raise awareness of psychiatric disabilities on the part of employers but were not intended to offer specific remedies.

For those companies that know how, accommodating employees with a recognized mental disability is often easy and cheap. Phil Kosak, owner and president of Carolina Fine Snacks in Greensboro, N.C., spends nothing to ease the adjustment for the three of his nine employees who suffer from various mental illnesses or learning disabilities. Kosak had noticed, for example, that one of his employees on a production line would panic if he was not reminded each morning of everything he was supposed to get done that day. So the boss posted a bulletin board with the daily production tasks and goals. "This was simple, cost nothing and improved my company's production overall," Kosak says.

Kosak has hired people with both physical and mental disabilities since 1988, when he attended a job fair sponsored by a local vocational-rehabilitation agency. "When someone has a disability, there is often too much of a focus on what they cannot do," Kosak says. "I like to focus on what someone can do." These employees work on the assembly line and receive the company's average salary of $8 an hour.

For many people with disabilities, the entrepreneurial atmosphere of the 1990s has taken them where so many other Americans are going--into business for themselves. Theodore Pinnock, 36, a San Diego civil rights attorney who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, started his own four-person law practice in 1991. The corporate legal world, he found, was less than welcoming. "The fact that I had a disability and that I am an African American made it very difficult for me to get where I wanted to be in my career," Pinnock says. "I had to work harder than most to gain the respect of my colleagues. But now I have a reputation and a name for myself, and clients know to come to me." In order to set up his practice, Pinnock spent more than $100,000 on various modifications, including a special device he created for his computer keyboard, a wheelchair-accessible van for transportation and a driver for out-of-town trips. He has at times had his executive assistant accompany him to court to help clarify his garbled speech. Back in 1992, Pinnock worked with a rehabilitation expert to help him adequately accommodate his office to his disability.

To help others reach Pinnock's goal, the presidential disabilities committee has created a new tool: a Job Accommodations Network, which starting last October began offering help to those who want to become entrepreneurs. JAN offers free advice on how to obtain financing, purchase office equipment and help a business accommodate a disability, says Dale Brown, the service's program manager. A website with more extensive information is expected to be up and running by the middle of 1999. So far, the service has helped 51 disabled people with questions on how to start a business. The goal is to reach 500 this year.