disability

Do Companies that Hire Contractors Have to Follow the ADA?

by Britne Jenke, CPACC
July 17, 2025July 17, 2025

This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series Tough Topics

Do Companies that Hire Contractors Have to Follow the ADA? also appears on our Substack Newsletter, Making Work Accessible, as part of our Tough Topic Thursdays series.

In Summary

When a company hires workers through a staffing agency, both the agency and the company must follow the ADA. This law protects people with disabilities from unfair treatment. It's a good idea for the staffing agency and the company to write down in their contract who will handle things.

Can I Be Fired for My Disability?

by Britne Jenke, CPACC
July 3, 2025June 16, 2025

This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Tough Topics

Can I Be Fired for My Disability? also appears on our Substack Newsletter, Making Work Accessible, as part of our Tough Topic Thursdays series.

In Summary

You have rights, and your employer has to be fair. But you also have a responsibility to speak up if you need help to do your job because of a disability. If your disability makes it hard to do your job, and you need something changed (like special equipment or different hours), then you do need to tell your boss. If you don't tell them, and you can't do your job well, your boss can fire you for not doing your job, not because you have a disability.

a pink-orange-purple gradient with a white icon of a unicorn and the words "I'm a Learning Style!" in white

The Learning Styles Myth

by Britne Jenke, CPACC
August 2, 2024May 26, 2025

When you’re working in adult learning and development, it’s only a matter of time before someone brings up “learning styles” as a methodology.

Otherwise content-rich books and articles fall on their face at the mention of this myth – it’s a clear cringe for those of us that have done the real work – and research.

Many adult learning practitioners know this myth well – and we do our best to stop it from perpetuating. Despite the popularity, there’s no credible evidence to support the concept of learning styles. While people may have preferences for how they like to learn, these preferences don’t often translate into better learning outcomes.

In Summary

A lot of people think everyone has a special "learning style," like being a visual learner or a hands-on learner. But studies show this isn't true. Even though you might prefer to learn in a certain way, it doesn't mean you actually learn better that way. Instead of focusing on these "learning styles," it's smarter to teach in many different ways and have people actively participate so everyone can learn best.

illustrated disabled people in brightly-colored clothing

Published: Are You Missing the D in DEI?

by Britne Jenke, CPACC
June 10, 2024May 26, 2025

I had an article published in the recent Workplace in Action® People Excellence magazine. My newest piece, “Are You Missing the ‘D’ in DEI?,” explores how diversity & inclusion initiatives may be missing the mark if they aren’t including disability.

My full article is shared below (along with a page for the #A11yBook!), but I hope you’ll check out the full magazine here as well. I’m still reading some of the great articles contributed by my colleagues. It’s a robust issue with a variety of perspectives!

In Summary

Many companies talk about being fair and including everyone. They can often forget about people with disabilities. When we leave out people with disabilities, it means those people feel unwelcome. Companies can miss out on great ideas and talented workers. To truly include everyone, businesses need to make sure events and online tools can be used by people with disabilities. Disabled voices should be heard in all discussions about fairness and inclusion.

a group of 3 people in a circle of arrows icon in white on a blue background

Making Work Accessible: Retention

by Britne Jenke, CPACC
May 31, 2024May 30, 2025

This entry is part 6 of 6 in the series Making Work Accessible

Welcome to this series of posts on Making Work Accessible! I’m so excited to share this deeper dive into accessibility at work, based on some content from a recent webinar and presentation. We’re going to explore the phases of the employee life cycle: Attraction, Recruitment, Onboarding, Development, and Retention. I’ll share some accessibility and inclusion best practices in each of these areas, and also include a related benefit of disability inclusion.

In HR, “retention” refers to the ability of an organization to keep its current employees and prevent employee turnover. What does that look like for people with disabilities?

In Summary

"Retention" means keeping people from leaving their jobs. To keep employees with disabilities, businesses should follow these best practices. When companies do this, employees feel more valued and tend to stay with the company longer, which benefits everyone.

an open book with a graduation cap in a light bulb icon in black on a green background

Making Work Accessible: Development

by Britne Jenke, CPACC
May 30, 2024May 30, 2025

This entry is part 5 of 6 in the series Making Work Accessible

In HR, “development” refers to training employees, providing coaching and feedback, and preparing them for future roles in the organization. What does that look like for people with disabilities?

In Summary

"Development" in a job means training and helping employees learn new skills. For people with disabilities, this means making sure everyone can access all resources. Companies that do this often make more money and can even get special perks.

a person with arrows to workflows icon in black on a yellow background

Making Work Accessible: Onboarding

by Britne Jenke, CPACC
May 29, 2024May 28, 2025

This entry is part 4 of 6 in the series Making Work Accessible

In HR, “onboarding” refers to the process of introducing a new employee to an organization and helping them adjust to their new role. What does that look like for people with disabilities?

In Summary

When a new person starts a job, "onboarding" is how the company helps them get settled. For employees with disabilities, making this process easy and fair is key. Doing the things in this article makes the company look better to customers and shows they care about fairness.

a person with arrows icon in black on an orange background

Making Work Accessible: Recruitment

by Britne Jenke, CPACC
May 28, 2024May 26, 2025

This entry is part 3 of 6 in the series Making Work Accessible

In HR, “recruitment” refers to the process of screening resumes, interviewing, and hiring within an organization. What does that look like for people with disabilities?

In Summary

Hiring people with disabilities brings in fresh ideas. It can help companies solve problems in new ways. By changing how they recruit and interview, businesses can find talented individuals with different ways of thinking. This can spark creativity and new solutions.

a magnet icon in white on a pink background

Making Work Accessible: Attraction

by Britne Jenke, CPACC
May 27, 2024May 25, 2025

This entry is part 2 of 6 in the series Making Work Accessible

In HR, “attraction” refers to the process of enticing qualified candidates to apply for job openings within an organization. What does that look like for people with disabilities?

In Summary

It's smart for businesses to hire people with disabilities because it creates a stronger talent pool. To do this, companies should follow some best practices for attracting employees with disabilities. By doing these things, businesses can find more skilled workers they might have missed before.

cover of The Inclusive Speaker: How to Truly Connect With All of Your Audience Without Leaving Anyone Behind by Denis Boudreau

Review: The Inclusive Speaker

by Britne Jenke, CPACC
May 25, 2024May 26, 2025

The Inclusive Speaker by Denis Boudreau has been on my radar for a bit, and I got to finally finish up reading on my flight back from New Orleans last weekend.

I have to start by saying, I really wanted to be able to recommend this book. I went in with the highest of hopes, imagining myself sharing this book with my speaker’s community and creating a wave of more disability-inclusive speakers. Since I speak on accessibility and disability inclusion, other speakers often ask me what they can do better to reach these audience members. This book has some good wisdom, but is in other places… problematic.

In Summary

This review of "The Inclusive Speaker" points out some good parts and some problems. The reviewer really wanted to like the book, especially since they teach others about being inclusive speakers. The main issue is that the book often talks about "learning styles," which research has shown is a myth. However, the book does have helpful parts, especially the checklists in Part 3. These checklists give practical advice on how to make presentations more inclusive for people with different disabilities.