Employer Disability Resources

Strengthen talent pipelines by reaching qualified job seekers with disabilities, including:

• Apprentices with disabilities, who gain industry-specific skills through training programs and on-the-job environments that prepare them for high-quality careers.
• Disabled veterans, who bring valuable skills, leadership experience, and problem-solving strengths to the workplace, supported by targeted recruitment and transition programs.
• Older workers, who represent a growing segment of the workforce with deep experience.
• Young people with disabilities, who benefit tremendously from transition programs and early work exposure to help develop lifelong careers.
   

• Finding Candidates with Disabilities — This resource from the Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability (EARN) gives employers practical, proactive ways to recruit qualified candidates with disabilities by partnering with community organizations and building talent pipelines.
• Branding and Messaging — This EARN page outlines strategic approaches for integrating disability initiatives into organizational branding and recruitment communications.

Expand opportunities to hire workers with disabilities with these Department of Labor resources:

• ODEP’s Competitive Integrated Employment Transformation Hub, which can help employers hire and support workers with disabilities in jobs that earn fair wages and allow them to work alongside peers without disabilities.  
• Guidance tailored to federal contractors to help agencies strengthen hiring frameworks and improve recruitment. 
• Section 503 resources for federal contractors to help organizations meet hiring goals.  
• ODEP’s Self-Employment and Entrepreneurship page, which has information for workers interested in starting their own business and gaining more control over their work environment, schedules, and financial independence.  
• ODEP’s Small Business page, which helps companies with limited recruitment capacity access tools to broaden outreach to talent with disabilities.  
• The Workforce Recruitment Program, which helps connect employers with college students and recent graduates with disabilities seeking internships or permanent roles. 

Employer Tools

Improve accessibility and efficiency throughout the hiring process by:

• Using accessible application systems to ensure that candidates can navigate and complete application materials.  
• Conducting effective interviews to keep the focus on candidates’ skills and qualifications.  
• Designing practices that touch all stages of recruitment, from job announcements to onboarding, to welcome and include disabled workers and strengthen the overall hiring experience.  

 Employer Tools

• Employers' Practical Guide to Reasonable Accommodation During the Hiring Process — This page from the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) provides employers with practical guidance for responding quickly and appropriately to applicants’ requests for reasonable accommodations. 
• Hiring Strategies for Specific Sectors and Industries — This resource from the Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability (EARN) outlines hiring considerations and resources tailored to federal contractors, federal and state government employers, and small businesses to help them recruit and employ people with disabilities effectively across different sectors.
• Ensuring Accessibility in the Hiring Process — This EARN content explains strategies employers can use to ensure that every stage of their hiring process is physically and digitally accessible.
• Small Business Toolkit — This EARN toolkit offers practical guidance and resources to help small businesses build their talent pipeline and meet workforce needs by recruiting, hiring, retaining, and advancing employees with disabilities.

Employers can strengthen their accommodation programs with practical tools and information that help streamline the accommodation process and deliver effective and efficient workplace accommodations. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) outlines employers’ obligations to provide accommodations and protects qualified workers with disabilities from discrimination. Employers can better understand workplace accommodations and the ADA by reviewing ODEP resources that explain how federal disability rights laws relate to workplace accommodations:  

• Employers and the ADA: Myths and Facts — This page clarifies common misconceptions about accommodations, hiring, and legal responsibilities.  
• Employment Laws: Disability and Discrimination — This explainer outlines key protections for workers with disabilities.   
• Employment Laws: Medical and-Disability Related Leave — This page explains how leave can function as a reasonable accommodation.   
• Employment Rights: Who Has Them and Who Enforces Them — This page provides an overview of workplace rights and the agencies responsible for enforcing nondiscrimination and accommodation requirements.

To assist employers, intermediaries, and workers with disabilities, ODEP manages the Job Accommodation Network (JAN). JAN is a trusted resource for employers, workers, and service providers seeking guidance on complex accommodation questions, exploring ways to hire and retain valued workers with disabilities, and complying with Title I of the ADA and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act. JAN offers extensive resources for individuals, private, non-profit, and government employers, service providers, and others: 

• One-on-one guidance on workplace accommodations, provided by JAN’s trusted consulting staff.   
• The resource library, A to Z of Disabilities and Accommodations, which helps users understand a wide range of disabilities and options for accommodations.  
• The Accommodation Situation and Solution Finder, a searchable repository of approaches other organizations have used successfully to accommodate workers.    
• JAN’s training events and resources, including webinars and e-learning. These practical, expert-led sessions feature JAN consultants and guest speakers, who help build expertise in workplace accommodations.  

Employer Tools

• Cost and Benefits of Accommodations — This report from the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) shows that most job accommodations for employees with disabilities are low-cost or no-cost and provide substantial benefits to workers and employers.
• Disability@Work: A Framework for Employing People with Disabilities — This guide from the Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability (EARN) helps employers develop and apply strategies to recruit, hire, retain, and advance workers with disabilities.
• How Artificial Intelligence (AI) Impacts Workplace Accommodation — This JAN primer explains how AI technologies can enhance accessibility and support workplace accommodations. 
• Apprenticeship Accommodation Toolkit — This ODEP resource offers strategies, examples, and resources to help apprenticeship programs provide effective accommodations for apprentices with disabilities. 
• Small Business Toolkit: Offer Reasonable Accommodations — EARN’s practical guide supports employers with limited resources to provide reasonable accommodations that help employees with disabilities succeed at work.
• Veterans Accommodations Toolkit: Workplace Resources for Disabled Veterans — ODEP’s resource hub helps disabled veterans understand workplace accommodations and supports employers in hiring and retaining them. 
• Workplace Accommodation and Accessibility Policy: A Disability Employment Toolkit  — EARN and JAN collaborated on this toolkit to walk employers through creating, assessing, and strengthening workplace accommodation and accessibility policies and practices.
• Workplace Accommodation Toolkit — This comprehensive JAN resource provides templates, guidance, and tools to help employers implement effective accommodations.

There’s a wide range of employment supports that can enhance workplace participation. The supports listed below highlight strategies, tools, and programs that provide evidence-based approaches to fostering a supportive work environment.

• The Accessible Technology page provides information on how workplace tools, digital systems, and emerging technologies should be usable by all workers, including those with disabilities.
• The Communications Access page demonstrates how organizations should make workplace communication clear, usable, and available in multiple formats so all employees can participate fully.
• The Health Care page shares policies and resources that remove barriers to support and promote well-being in the workplace. 
• The Housing page shares on-the-job supports that help workers with disabilities stay employed and participate more fully in the labor force. 
• The Personal Assistance Services page outlines supports for daily living activities or workplace-related tasks that promote independence and help workers with disabilities participate in the workplace. 
• The Transportation page highlights that accessible, reliable transportation is a key factor in obtaining and maintaining employment.
• The Universal Design page promotes designing workplaces, programs, and technologies so they are usable by the widest range of people.   

Employer Tools

• Assistive Technology — The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) explains how to use assistive technology to meet workplace accommodation needs. JAN also helps employers choose effective solutions.
• Personal Assistance in the Workplace — JAN clarifies what personal assistance services are, when they are required, and how they support employees with disabilities in performing daily living activities at work. 
• A to Z: Universal Design in the Workplace — This JAN page introduces universal design and shows that equipment and environments that are designed to be usable by more people reduce accommodation needs and improve workplace accessibility.
• Workplace Flexibility — This resource from the Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability explains how flexible scheduling, location, and work methods help create workplaces that benefit all employees, including those with disabilities.

In an accessible work environment, digital and physical workspaces, facilities, and on-site systems are designed so every employee can navigate, participate, and contribute fully. The ODEP resources below help employers remove physical barriers, strengthen safety and usability, and create settings that support workers across all areas of work.

• The Accessible Technology page offers employers guidance on selecting and implementing digital tools that meet accessibility standards so workplace technology is usable by all employees, including those with disabilities.    
• On the Communications Access page, employers can learn about solutions such as captioning, American Sign Language interpretation, real-time transcription, and other accessible communication practices that help all workers participate fully in meetings, training, and day-to-day operations.   
• The Universal Design page equips employers with strategies for designing accessible workplaces, tools, and systems that proactively anticipate user needs, reducing the need for individualized accommodations.  

Employer Tools

• Be Tech Savvy: Accessible Information and Communication Technology — This resource from the Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability (EARN) explains how accessible digital tools and communication technologies help expand an organization’s talent pool.
• Creating an Accessible and Welcoming Workplace — This EARN page highlights the key elements of a supportive work environment, including physical and digital accessibility and organizational commitment to welcoming people with disabilities.
• Planning an Accessible Meeting or Event — EARN’s checklist lays out steps for making online or in-person meetings and events accessible before, during, and after they occur.
• Physical Accessibility — This EARN page describes what areas employers must consider when ensuring physical access in the workplace, from entrances and restrooms to equipment and shared spaces.
• Small Business Toolkit: Promote Physical and Technological Accessibility — EARN’s toolkit explains how making workplaces fully accessible, both physically and technologically, helps small businesses boost productivity, widen their talent pool, retain employees, and better serve customers. 
• Supporting Digital Accessibility in the Public and Private Sectors — This EARN page highlights research-informed strategies and promising practices that help organizations strengthen digital accessibility so employees, customers, and the public can fully access and use evolving information and communication technologies.
• Ten Tips for an Accessible Website — EARN’s resource offers practical guidance to help organizations ensure that their websites are accessible and usable by everyone.

Assistive technology includes tools, devices, software, and emerging technologies that help employees with disabilities perform their jobs effectively and independently. Assistive technology can support communication, information access, mobility, organization, perception, and many other aspects of work, enabling workers to participate fully and contribute their skills. ODEP’s resources provide guidance on accessible tools, workplace integration strategies, and technology design:

• The Accessible Technology page provides guidance on how assistive technology can support workers with disabilities by enhancing accessibility and productivity.  
• The Universal Design page outlines strategies for creating workplaces, tools, and systems that are accessible to everyone from the start, including through technology-based solutions.  
• The Communications Access page highlights technologies and practices that ensure effective communication access, such as captioning, interpreting services, and accessible communication tools.  

Employer Tools

• A to Z: Assistive Technology — This Job Accommodation Network (JAN) page guides employers and employees through practical steps to identify, select, and implement assistive technology solutions that meet specific job accommodation needs.
• How Artificial Intelligence Impacts Workplace Accommodation — JAN’s article explains how artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance accommodations (e.g., improving communication, comprehension, and executive functioning) and offers guidance on using AI responsibly in hiring and workplace tools.
• Small Business Toolkit: Promote Physical and Technological Accessibility — This page from the Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability (EARN) shows how accessible workplaces help small businesses boost productivity, broaden their talent pool, retain employees, and better serve customers.
• Technological Accessibility — EARN outlines why digital accessibility matters, how it can be achieved across common workplace technologies, and how organizations can meet such accessibility standards as Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act to ensure that everyone can use the same tools.

Accessible work environments ensure that digital and physical workplaces, facilities, and on-site systems are designed so every employee can navigate, participate, and contribute fully. ODEP’s resources help employers remove physical barriers, strengthen safety and usability, and create settings that support workers across all aspects of the workplace:

• The Federal Contractor Requirements page provides support and resources available through ODEP’s initiatives.  
• The Federal Employers page explains how ODEP supports federal efforts to be a model employer of people with disabilities.   
• The Policies in Practice page showcases real-world examples of workers with disabilities who have gained meaningful employment with support from ODEP-funded programs.   
• ODEP’s Self-Employment and Entrepreneurship page has guidance for entrepreneurs and business owners with disabilities on developing and sustaining accessible business operations.  
• The Stay-at-Work/Return-to-Work page explains how early coordination of interventions can help keep injured or ill workers connected to their jobs, reduce costs for employers, and improve long-term outcomes for workers.   
• ODEP’s Workforce System page focuses on systemic policy alignment, employer workforce development, and policy planning.  

Employer Tools

• Disability@Work: A Framework for Employing People with Disabilities — This practical framework from the Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability (EARN) guides employers in building disability talent pipelines, making technology accessible, and measuring progress toward a supportive culture. 
• Neurodiversity in the Workplace — This EARN page provides employers with a practical toolkit for recruiting, hiring, retaining, and advancing neurodivergent workers and highlighting the strengths they bring. The toolkit also offers strategies to help organizations build a neuroinclusive workplace. 
• Partnering with Businesses to Advance Disability Employment — EARN equips community-based and workforce organizations with step-by-step strategies to engage employers, meet business needs, and sustain partnerships that expand disability employment. 
• Small Business Toolkit — This EARN resource helps small businesses recruit, hire, retain, and advance people with disabilities with actionable guidance, checklists, and resources tailored to small-employer realities. 
• Workplace Accommodation and Accessibility Policy: A Disability Employment Toolkit —This joint publication from EARN and the Job Accommodation Network offers policy assessments, sample language, and implementation steps to help employers combine accommodations and accessibility into one effective, organization-wide program. 
• Workplace Mental Health Toolkit — EARN’s employer-focused toolkit focuses on the 4 A’s—awareness, accommodations, assistance, and access—of fostering a mentally healthy, supportive work environment for all workers. 

By taking full advantage of tax incentives, employers can help offset potential costs of hiring qualified workers, such as improving accessibility and modernizing workplace practices. When paired with clear internal policies, these incentives give employers practical tools to broaden their talent pipeline and strengthen long-term workforce growth. ODEP’s resources offer a summary of available incentives:

• On the Financial Education and Incentives page, business owners can find support for financial planning, savings, and asset building.  
• The Small Business page highlights how small businesses can use federal incentives to hire and retain workers with disabilities.  
• ODEP’s Tax Incentives for Employers page summarizes federal disability-related tax credits that self-employed individuals can also use.  
• The Quick Guide: Resources for Creating Apprenticeships and Work-Based Learning Environments for People with Disabilities provides employers with practical resources to build accessible apprenticeships and work-based learning programs for people with disabilities.    

Employer Tools

• Business Benefits of Disability Employment — This resource from the Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability (EARN) explains how hiring, retaining, and advancing people with disabilities strengthens business performance through improved innovation, customer reach, and workplace culture. 
• Cost and Benefits of Accommodations — This report from the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) shows that most job accommodations cost little or nothing and provide strong return on investment for employers.  
• Employer Financial Incentives — This EARN page outlines federal and state programs that help employers offset costs related to hiring, retaining, and accommodating workers with disabilities. 
• Employer Tax Incentives Available from the Federal Government — EARN summarizes federal tax incentives that support employers in making accessibility improvements and hiring workers with disabilities. 
• Funding — JAN’s page provides information on potential funding sources, reimbursement options, and programs that may help cover the cost of workplace accommodations. 
• Small Business Incentives — EARN shares resources on financial incentives that can help small businesses recruit and hire people with disabilities. 
• Small Business Series: Federal, State, and Local Disability Hiring Incentives and Resources for Small Businesses — EARN highlights tax credits and other financial supports available to help small businesses hire and retain workers with disabilities. 
• Tax Incentive Topics — JAN explains various tax incentives available to employers to support disability employment, accessibility improvements, and accommodations.