Summary
Employers ask about disabilities for multiple reasons. They do this to follow laws and report on their hiring goals. This information is supposed to be kept separate from the hiring process. However, many people with disabilities don't report their status. They are often afraid of being treated differently.
Talent Acquisition Question: What’s the Deal with Asking About Disability on Job Applications? also appears on our Substack Newsletter, Making Work Accessible, as part of our Tough Topic Thursdays series.
Tough Topic: What’s the Deal with Asking About Disability on Job Applications?
The Tough Topic Thursdays series is doing some deep dives this month! We’re looking into specific questions related to disability and neurodivergence in the areas of Talent Acquisition, Employee Onboarding, Training and Development, and Performance Management.
Tough Question:
Why do they ask about disabilities on job applications and what do they do with that data? Also are replies anonymous and/or confidential?
Tough Answer:
The potential for discrimination, while always a concern, is balanced by specific legal and regulatory reasons why employers ask about disabilities. They do this to comply with federal regulations like Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For example, this law requires federal contractors and subcontractors to take actions to employ and advance qualified individuals with disabilities. By asking about disability status, companies can track their progress toward aspirational hiring goals, such as the 7% goal set by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). This data is often used for benchmarking and is a key component of a company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) reporting.
Disability disclosures are generally voluntary and are intended to be kept confidential. In many companies, this information is stored separately from the rest of the application and is not accessible to hiring managers. Instead, companies use aggregate data for demographic reporting and to meet legal requirements. This separation is a crucial step to prevent people from using this data in hiring decisions.
Read More:
- Disability:IN: On the Verge: Disability and Sustainability Reporting (PDF) [PDF]
- Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP): Section 503
Tough Question:
What percentage of people with disabilities do you think answer honestly about disabilities questions on job applications?
Tough Answer:
It’s probably impossible to tell for many reasons. Research consistently shows a significant gap between the actual prevalence of disability in the workforce and the self-identification rates reported by companies. A study by the Boston Consulting Group found that about 25% of employees self-identify as having a disability or health condition that limits a major life activity. However, most companies report that only 4% to 7% of their employees have disclosed a disability.
This “disclosure gap” is a result of many valid concerns. Individuals with disabilities often choose not to disclose due to a fear of stigma, discrimination, or being perceived as less capable. A study by Coqual found that 30% of white-collar, college-educated employees with disabilities experienced negative bias at their companies. Unfortunately, these fears can be well-founded! One study found that job applicants who disclosed a disability received 26% fewer expressions of employer interest. Beyond the fear of discrimination, many people with non-apparent disabilities may not disclose because they feel their condition is not relevant to their job performance or that they don’t need accommodations. For many, the decision to disclose is a personal one, influenced by factors like the culture of the workplace, the specific job, and their own past experiences.
Read More:
- Return on Disability Group: Workplace Attitudes and Disability
- Boston Consulting Group: Companies Are Drastically Underestimating How Many of Their Employees Have Disabilities
- Coqual: Disabilities and Inclusion
- National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER): The Disability Employment Puzzle: A Field Experiment on Employer Hiring Behavior
Do you see this question on job applications? How do you answer? We’re listening.
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In Summary
Employers ask about disabilities for multiple reasons. They do this to follow laws and report on their hiring goals. This information is supposed to be kept separate from the hiring process. However, many people with disabilities don't report their status. They are often afraid of being treated differently.
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