Myths About Hiring Persons with Disabilities
Individuals who have disabilities who are not in the labour force are faced with the misperception that they are either unable or unwilling to work. Failure to recognize and address these myths and negative stereotypes results in discrimination and the exclusion of individuals who have disabilities from the workplace despite their willingness and ability to actively participate in the labour force.

Myth: It's almost impossible to interview individuals who have disabilities because it's so easy to break human rights laws.
Fact: Interviewing is easy. They key is to focus on abilities rather than disabilities. Ask the same job-related questions that you ask other applicants. And once you've hired someone who have a disability, there's a good chance they'll stay. Pizza Hut Corporation finds that workers who have disabilities are five times more likely to stay than people without disabilities.

Myth: Employees who have disabilities have a higher absentee rate than employees without disabilities.
Fact: Studies by firms such as DuPont show that employees who have disabilities are not absent any more than employees without disabilities. In fact, these studies show that on the average, individuals who have disabilities have better attendance rates than their non-disabled counterparts.

Myth: Individuals who have disabilities are not as productive or don't work as hard as employees without disabilities.
Fact: A 1987(remove year reference), Louis Harris and Associates survey of 920 American employers revealed that employees who have disabilities have about the same (57%) or better (20%) productivity levels than employees without disabilities. 90% were rated as average or above average in performance of job duties. 79% of the managers also responded that their employees who have disabilities work 33% as hard or harder than 46% of their employees without a disability.
Myth: Individuals who have disabilities are more likely to have accidents.
Fact: Two studies, one conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics during the 1940's and a current study recently completed by the DuPont Company support the findings that workers who have disabilities performed significantly higher than their counterparts without disabilities in the area of safety. These studies included people in professional, technical, managerial, operational, labor, clerical, and service areas. It evaluated individuals with orthopedic, vision, heart, health, and hearing disabilities. Conclusion: Workers who have disabilities are often more aware, not less, of safety issues in the workplace.

Myth: Individuals who have disabilities are more prone to additional injuries.
Fact: Workers who have disabilities have average or better safety records on and off the job. The US Department of Labor, through four national studies, has found that individuals who have disabilities experience fewer disabling injuries than the average employee exposed to the same hazards.

Myth: An employer's worker’s compensation rates rise when they hire individuals who have disabilities.
Fact: Insurance rates are based solely on the relative hazards of the operation and the organization's accident experience, not on whether workers have disabilities. A study conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers showed that 90% of the 279 companies surveyed reported no effect on insurance costs as a result of hiring workers who have disabilities.
Myth: Individuals who have disabilities are unable to meet performance standards, thus making them a bad employment risk.
Fact: In 1990 (remove year reference), DuPont conducted a survey of 811 employees who have disabilities and found 90% rated average or better in job performance compared to 95% for employees without disabilities. A similar 1981(remove year reference), DuPont study which involved 2,745 employees who have disabilities found that 92% of employees who have disabilities rated average or better in job performance compared to 90% of employees without disabilities. The 1981 study results were comparable to DuPont's 1973 job performance study. Delete this sentence.

Myth: Individuals who have disabilities are not reliable.
Fact: Individuals who have disabilities tend to remain on the job and to maintain better levels of attendance. A US Chamber of Commerce study revealed that workers who have disabilities had an 80% lower turnover rate.

Myth: I can't fire or discipline an employee who has a disability.
Fact: While there are laws in place, such as the Human Rights Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that serve to protect the rights of individuals who have disabilities by providing equal access in the areas of employment, transportation, public accommodations, public services, and telecommunications, there are no special procedures for firing or disciplining employees who have disabilities.

Establish clear performance expectations from the start. If a performance problem does occur, follow your company's usual guidelines: discuss the problem with the worker, look for solutions, document the situation and, if necessary, terminate the employment agreement.
Myth: Individuals who have disabilities should be placed in jobs where they will not fail.
Fact: Everyone has the right to fail as well as to succeed. Be careful not to hold someone back from a position or a promotion because you think that there is a possibility that he or she might fail in the position. If this person is the best-qualified candidate, give them the same opportunity to try that you would give anyone else.

Myth: Considerable expense is necessary to accommodate workers who have disabilities.
Fact: In reality and with proper planning and knowledge, most job accommodations are simple and inexpensive. According to the Job Accommodation Network Canada, 80% of accommodations cost less than $500. In addition, a Health and Activity Limitations Survey (HALS) found that fewer than 30,000, or 4% of the 890,000 working Canadians who have disabilities required accessible washrooms, ramps or other building modifications. There are government programs which can defer some or all of the cost of the accommodation. Most frequently reported accommodations were changes in job duties and modified hours of work. Accommodations mostly have more to do with creativity, flexibility and sound management practices than expensive structural modifications or specialized technology.

Accommodations like ramps, automatic door openers, widened doorways, and wheelchair accessible washrooms make the employers workplace more accessible to other potential employees who have disabilities. Clients and customers like parents with baby strollers and people making deliveries also enjoy the comforts of a less cumbersome environment. It is therefore misleading to consider the cost of these changes as the cost of accommodating just one employee.