Employment
Local businesses who understand the value of a diverse workforce bring us one step closer to becoming the most disability-friendly community in the country. We recognize people with disabilities whose work keeps our nation's economy strong and reaffirms equal opportunity for all citizens. Diverse and inclusive opportunities are built from a naturally supportive culture - creating an environment of success for both the employee and employer.
For Employers
- Recruitment Websites
- Employers Embracing Employees with Disabilities
- Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities
- Society for Human Resource Management
- Inclusive Hiring: Applicants with Disabilities
- Interviewing People with Disabilities
For Job Seekers
Employing People with Disabilities
Disability discrimination occurs when an employer or other entity covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, or the Rehabilitation Act, as amended, treats a qualified individual with a disability who is an employee or applicant unfavorably because he or she has a disability.
- U.S. Department Equal Opportunity Commission
- FAQs Legal Protections in the Workplace During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Legal protections available during this time can help many maintain employment, mitigate risk of infection from COVID-19, care for family members without losing employment, or in dire situations, maintain unemployment compensation until the public health emergency has passed. This resource is meant as a tool to set out the legal protections available to workers during this time.
Employer Resources:
- The Workplace Initiative
The Workplace Initiative helps companies recruit, hire and retain the largest untapped labor pool in the country – people with disabilities. This site showcases facts and case studies to show how disability inclusion drives business value. The Disability Employment and Inclusion Guide includes information needed to start or enhance your disability employment and inclusion program.
- Disability Equality Index (DEI)
The DEI is a national, transparent, annual benchmarking tool that offers businesses an opportunity to receive an objective score, on a scale of zero (0) to 100, on their disability inclusion policies and practices.
- Disability Employment Tracker
The Disability Employment Tracker™ is a free, confidential company assessment that measures disability and employment policies and practices and includes a confidential section on veteran employment practice.
- The Job Accommodation Network (AskJAN.org)
Working toward practical solutions that benefit both employer and employee, JAN helps people with disabilities enhance their employability, and shows employers how to capitalize on the value and talent that people with disabilities add to the workplace.
- Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (AskEARN.org)
EARN is a free resource that helps employers tap the benefits of disability diversity. They educate public- and private-sector organizations on ways to build inclusive workplace cultures and empower them to become leaders in the employment and advancement of people with disabilities.
- Getting Hired
An Allegis Group Company, GettingHired is a recruitment solution dedicated to helping inclusive employers hire professional individuals and veterans with disabilities.
- abilityJOBS.com
Established in 1995, AbilityJobs is the first online job board dedicated to connecting job seekers with employers—helping hundreds of thousands of qualified candidates with disabilities.
- ABILITYJobFair.org
Ability Job Fair is the only online career fair with face-to-face video—including real time captioning, chat and sign language interpreters, providing the most accessible experience for job seekers with disabilities.
- Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP)
The Workforce Recruitment Program is a recruitment and referral program that connects federal and private-sector employers nationwide with highly motivated college students and recent graduates with disabilities who are eager to demonstrate their abilities in the workplace through summer or permanent jobs.
- LEAD CENTER
The LEAD Center is a collaborative of disability workforce and economic empowerment organizations dedicated to improving employment and economic advancement outcomes for all people with disabilities.
- RETAIN Demonstration Projects
The Retaining Employment and Talent after Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN) is a program focused on an important dimension of disability employment: Stay-at-Work/Return-to-Work (SAW/RTW) Funded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) in partnership with the Employment and Training Administration and Social Security Administration, the program is engaging eight state teams in a series of demonstration projects focused on helping workers stay at or return to the workforce following an illness or injury.
- THINK BEYOND THE LABEL
TBTL is a public-private network that works to increase employment for qualified job seekers with disabilities. Provides business-specific tools to promote hiring of people with disabilities and best -practices at doing it
- Hire Disability Solutions, LLC
is a consulting company assisting corporation and organizations in the management of inclusion and diversity in the workplace. Hire Disability Solutions helps to simply the hiring process through alliances with the right organizations, people and technology.
- U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
created in 1953, the SBA is the only cabinet level federal agency fully dedicated to helping small business owners and entrepreneurs pursue the American dream. SBA has good resources on how to hire individual with disabilities starting from how to create a culture of inclusivity and including financial incentives.
- Hire Disability Solutions
Hire Disability Solutions founded in response to the increasing demand for services for individual with disabilities.
- Workforce Solutions
The Workforce Solutions toolkit is developed using the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy as a source. This toolkit highlights additional employer benefits associated with hiring persons with disabilities.
- Council For Disability Awareness (CDA)
a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping adults understand the importance of having alternative sources of income for times when they can not work, has resources to showcase how businesses benefit from hiring people with disabilities.
- The Campaign for Disability Employment (CDE)
Funded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, the CDE is a collaborative effort among several disability and business organizations that is working to change attitudes about disability and employment.
Reasonable Accommodations
- Request Form
- Assistive Technology in the Workforce
- List of Disabilities and Accommodations - JAN Network
Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities
- Disability Sensitivity Training Video
- How to Recruit, Accommodate and Promote People with Disabilities
- The Interviewer
The Interviewer is an award-winning inclusive short film, made through our Bus Stop Films, filmmaking program. The film was devised with 12 people living with disability, all of whom actively participated in the development of the film and were mentored through the process of making the film with professional mentor
- Respect Ability Webinar Listing
- Employing Abilities @ Work Certificate
WORKING BETTER TOGETHER
The Ability Center, Goodwill Industries, Lott Industries, and the Epilepsy Center have come together in a partnership to support a job exploration and employment project that actively promotes individuals with disabilities as employment candidates to Toledo Rotary membership. Together these four organizations prioritize clients for work in the community and streamline communications by selecting one person representing all four organizations to coordinate the supports and resources needed for a successful placement. Fill out our contact us form for more information about this opportunity.