California falls behind other states in disability employment.
California prides itself on being an “Employment First” state. Employment First is a framework centered on the premise that all individuals, including those individuals with the most significant disabilities, are capable of full participation in Competitive Integrated Employment. In 2021, California enacted a law requiring state agencies to accommodate people with disabilities and to adopt and implement affirmative action plans to improve the representation of individuals with a disability.
Despite these paper commitments, the employment rate of disabled workers in California state government has steadily dropped from 12.1% in December of 2017 to 7.1% in June of 2023 — a 40% decrease.[32] This is far below the 16.6% employment rate reported by the federal government in 2022. Moreover, unlike the federal government, California does not collect or report data on people with the most significant or “targeted” disabilities. California’s low numbers likely reflect failures in recruitment, hiring, workplace culture, employment support services, reasonable accommodation, and retention.
Additionally, California should pursue opportunities to supply education, training, and funding for employers on reasonable accommodations, including website and online application accessibility for people with print disabilities. Small business owners and those with limited capital deserve the opportunity to develop and provide reasonable accommodations that can support disabled people who are skilled, willing, and able to participate in our workforce.
The push for in-person work is leaving disabled workers behind.
As the public and private sectors push for return-to-office policies, many disabled employees are being left behind. Remote work is a reasonable accommodation that many disabled people utilize. People with some types of mental health conditions, autism spectrum disorders, certain chronic health disabilities, and certain physical disabilities have had to bear the brunt of this shift from remote work to the in-person work setting. Unfortunately, many managers have little or no understanding of certain types of disabilities and tend to attribute requests for legitimate reasonable accommodation to faking or malingering.
We have heard numerous reports of accommodation requests being delayed or denied. Further, we are concerned by the fact that employees who have requested reasonable accommodation, and who are waiting for their requests to be processed or adjudicated, are being told to report to the physical work setting or use leave credits to continue working remotely. Remote work must be considered as reasonable accommodation when appropriate for the role, and accommodation requests need to be considered individually rather than blanket denials.
Additionally, California should pursue opportunities to supply education, training, and funding for employers on reasonable accommodations. Small business owners and those with limited capital deserve the opportunity to develop and provide reasonable accommodations that can support disabled people who are skilled, willing, and able to participate in our workforce.
Vocational rehabilitation services fall short of meeting the needs of disabled people who want to work.
Disabled individuals who receive pre-employment services through the California Department of Rehabilitation have reported significant time delays that impact their academic and job prospects. The state needs to streamline the process of procurement of resources, delivery of services, and intake of new clients to ensure that disabled individuals benefit from these programs in a timely manner for their job readiness.
Further, many rehabilitation training services are delivered through community partner agencies purporting to have expertise in the unique training and skill needs of particular disabilities. Most of these non-profit community partner agencies being funded for their expertise often lack any representation by those persons with disabilities on their boards or management teams.[33] Just as with the funded Independent Living Center entities, community partner agencies funded by state vocational rehabilitation dollars should have mandatory quotas of persons with disabilities represented in their management structures.
The ASL interpreter shortage is a barrier to Deaf inclusion in employment, higher education, and beyond.
California needs to invest in the professional development of ASL interpreters. In 2022, the National Deaf Center (NDC) on Post-Secondary Outcomes stated that the lack of ASL interpretation is currently creating a crisis among Deaf and hard-of-hearing college students. The interpreter shortage is not only impacting Deaf people in college education but also in elementary through high school education, the court systems, healthcare, employment, and other areas. Rural areas that have only a handful of interpreters often do not have robust broadband internet to use video remote interpreting (VRI). While VRI helps make effective use of limited resources, VRI still depends on having enough qualified and diverse ASL interpreters.
Disabled workers need access to services and supports that are not linked to poverty-level income thresholds.
Many services for disabled people are income-limited. Disabled people are forced into an impossible choice: remain in poverty and receive services, or work and jeopardize needed services. In many cases, even with an income, an individual cannot afford to pay for needed services out of pocket, nor should they be expected to. This contributes to the high unemployment rates of people with disabilities in California, and elsewhere in the nation. Notably, at the federal level, the SSI asset limit prevents many disabled people from taking on paid work. California should do more to decouple services and income. If people do not qualify for Medi-Cal or regional center services, there are few options for long-term services and supports. With a few exceptions, Medi-Cal eligibility requires disabled people to remain in poverty. California should be a leader in disability employment and create pathways to long-term services and supports (LTSS) for employed people with disabilities at every income level. One policy lever to achieve this goal is a Medicaid buy-in program for working disabled people across incomes.
[32] “Report 5 – Disability Parity by Department.” California Department of Human Resources, 2024.