Working disabilities workshop in Long Beach(1)

By Alfredo Santana

A special workshop that focused on the personal and social benefits of hiring people with disabilities, social programs and regulation that support employment of these individuals, and the type of documents and information needed to clinch a job was conducted on Oct. 30 at the Self-Determination Conference, organized at the Westin hotel in Long Beach.

Michele Mar, an employment specialist with the Harbor Regional Center, said a paid job gives those with disabilities, and people in general, freedom and independence, promotes self-esteem, and turns individuals as contributing members of a community. Jobs also get people out of dependency, and poverty.

Mar said only about 25% of people who live with either a cognitive, or physical disability, have a full, or a part-time job. She said that some regional businesses have embraced a program whereby three, or four people with disabilities are hired, and provided support and on-site coaching with 100% supervision while getting trained to do their job.

Another type of on-site training occurs when an individual is told to stick to a supervisor, usually for three months to get direct coaching. If a bit of extra time is needed, special arrangements can be made, Mar explained.

“Some of these companies are located here in the Long Beach area, such as Mattel, Toyota, Nissan, Costco, and others,” Mar said. “The condition is that these individuals hired receiving minimum wages, or higher.”

Mar explained that after these employees with special abilities become part of any company’s payroll, internal competition from non-disabled employees tends to grow. Therefore, she said it’s important people with disabilities be highly motivated to both hold the job, and endure certain type of internal pressures.

Arthur Kerschner, chief of child labor and special employment enforcement division, with the Department of Labor, said his agency is in charge to enforce federal laws that mandate payment of at least minimum hourly wages for people with disabilities. Currently, the minimum hourly wage in the United States in $7.25 per hour.

He said Section 14 [c] of the U.S. Labor Code helps workers with any disability to get a foot in the workplace. It also provides terminology for what constitutes “real work,” and offers legal guidance on how to forge vocational training for individuals with disabilities. He added his agency conducts “customized jobs” programs, whereby companies work together with the Labor Department, to provide coaching and support for prospective employees, in order to match jobs that meet the employers’ criteria. They help individuals with disabilities to hold paid, productive positions.