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Benefits in Hiring Disabled Workers
Connor G. Burgess
April 4, 2016

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Table Of Contents
Executive Summary:......................................................................................................... 3
Introduction:...................................................................................................................... 5
Tax Incentives:.................................................................................................................. 6
Employee Morale and Productivity Boost:..................................................................... 7
Disadvantages and Hiring Fears: .................................................................................... 8
Money and Success:........................................................................................................ 10
Conclusion: ...................................................................................................................... 10
References........................................................................................................................ 12

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Executive Summary:
 Introduction
Success is something all businesses are chasing after. With success comes
increasing profits and money is key to success. Hiring disabled workers is a very
beneficial tactic for companies but there are some disadvantages that come with it.
Crowe Howarth should take the steps to hiring disabled workers to further benefit
their company.
 Tax Incentives
Employers have a variety of situations where they can receive tax credits and
reimbursements from the government for hiring disabled workers. There are cash
incentives for companies when they hire disabled workers and disabled veteran
workers (Sompayrac, Fulmer & Turpin 2011). It will not cost a company a dime in
most cases to make accommodations for disabled employees (HR Focus 2003).
 Employee’s Morale and Productivity Boost
Disabled workers completely change the atmosphere of the work environment
when they get hired in to a company. When disabled workers begin their job they
are completely dedicated to finishing and completing their job the right way and in a
timely manner. They boost the productivity of the business by providing a happier
place to work for all employees.

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 Disadvantages and Hiring Fears
There are very few disadvantages that employers need to be aware of when
hiring disabled workers. There will be time that is used to accommodate some
disabilities. There will be meetings to inform the company of rules and regulations
with working with disabled co-workers.
There are also hiring fears employers have before considering possible disabled
employees. Employers are unaware of the benefits that disabled workers bring.
Managers often times believe that disabled employees would bring a lack of skill sets to
the table, have transportation issues, and the belief that disabled workers will not be able
to complete the job (HR Focus 2003).
 Money and Success
Companies’ main driving factor in their success is money. The amount of money the
company brings in for the quarter is a great way to grade the success for that time period.
One last factor with disabled employees shows future employees and customers the sort
of great organization the company is.
 Conclusion
Hiring disabled workers brings many benefits and few possible disadvantages to the
company. Advantages would include: tax credits, productivity boosts, happier work
environments, and more success and profits within the company. Disadvantages are
possible time loss for accommodations and informal meetings about the rules and
regulations.

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Introduction:
Every business whether it is prosperous or lacking in productivity seeks success
and improvement within the organization. There are solutions available that are simple
that most employers unfortunately overlook. The simple solution that will be talked about
is hiring disabled employees. Hiring disabled employees offers many great benefits for
both the employer and the company as a whole. The biggest thing that prevents
employers from even considering disabled employees is the fear of actually having
disabled workers in their workforce. In reality there are very few disadvantages that an
employer should be scared of. The unemployed workforce of disabled people is large and
the amount of intellectual people out there that could benefit businesses is worth the risk.
There are great tax incentives for employers who hire disabled people. Employee morale
and productivity skyrocket from the positivity that disabled workers bring in.
Each of the sources that were researched and inputted in this report were found
through the business source premier database. The information is credible and accurate
because each source backs up another source in one way or another. This report will
focus solely on hiring disabled workers and the large support of advantages compared to
the minimal amount of disadvantages. Crowe Howarth is the target company for this
report. They have had a lot of success as an accounting firm and by choosing to make
some big decisions they can incline that success even more.

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Tax Incentives:
Businesses have a variety of different tax incentives and tax credits that the
workforce allows employers to use. The only mysterious thing is many employers do not
even know of some of the things that they can be compensated for through their
company’s taxes. According to HR Focus, “the tax incentives can more than reimburse
employers for some or all of the accommodation costs involved in hiring disabled
workers.” This fact would give employers no excuse to hiring disabled employees. Many
of them are very intelligent and if providing accommodations is what holds someone
back then simply go for the tax credits, which will cover the expenses in most cases. If no
accommodations are needed for a specific disabled employee then the company can use
this credit to help modify the workplace for that worker to make it even easier to
accomplish daily tasks.
Another fantastic possibility that employers can look forward to when hiring
disabled workers is for each disabled employee the employer can get up to $2,400 and for
each disabled veteran hired employers can receive up to $4,800 under the Work
Opportunity Tax Credit (Sompayrac, Fulmer & Turpin 2011). Employers and companies
can use this benefit to further improve and invest in their company to make it more
successful, which in turn would bring in more profits. If free money is not a large enough
driving factor, then just wait because there are even more benefits with hiring disabled
workers.
Aside from these wonderful opportunities that all businesses have, there are seven
main tax opportunities that most companies do not take advantage of when considering
disabled people. One opportunity that is available for disabled employees is the Mentor-
Protégé Program, which allows disabled employees to receive help from a mentor to

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improve their knowledge in their field of work (HR Focus 2003). The federal government
pays for this program so it will not cost companies a dime to get involved. This program
would be beneficial to use because whether the disabled employee needed the intellectual
help or not you could use it to further their knowledge and boost them above other
employees.
Employee Morale and Productivity Boost:
Nearly every source at least mentioned the idea that most disabled workers bring
a personality to the table the changes the atmosphere of the workforce in the business.
Disabled employees bring many qualities to a business that any employer would love to
see. They are dependable, reliable, and honest hard workers who complete accurate work
and are bringing in productivity rates sometimes even higher than employees without
disabilities (Everson & Parent 1986). These qualities shape a nearly perfect employee.
That does not mean these employees are perfect at what they do but they will try their
hardest to complete each objective in a timely accurate manner. Don Dzikowski provided
an example in his journal that described a disabled employee as someone who shows a lot
of pride in his work and handles adverse tasks in a successful manner while receiving
“minimal training.”
Another article relating to this topic talks about the productivity of disabled
workers in the business world. Ashley Smith provided a quoted fact that stated, "ninety
percent of people with disabilities meet or exceed productivity requirements. It's really
just about changing how people view people with disabilities." Employers do not realize
that the word disabled does not mean that someone is not going to be able to do their job
efficiently. If anything, disabled workers are going to put in more effort and more hard

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work than non-disabled workers because they feel like they need to prove themselves.
This is actually a great thing to have in a business because if a disabled worker is
working at a high level and does better work than those workers whom are healthy, then
those workers will be motivated to work harder and increase the productivity of the
business.
An article describing productivity boosts within a business while hiring disabled
workers was another article that related to the productivity of a company. Paula
Mergenhagen discussed what went on in Phil Kosak’s business and he described the
workers as being, “extremely interested in the company, its productivity, and what their
job responsibilities were.” He also said the positive attitudes of the disabled workers
rubbed off on the rest of the company and the productivity was over 90 percent capacity
(Mergenhagen 1997). These examples are great motivating factors for reasoning to hire
disabled workers. If most companies who have hired disabled workers are reporting back
with positive feedback and boosts in company productivity then they must be doing
something right. The goal of a company is to make a profit and the managers are the ones
who make the important decisions to help make more in profits. Hiring disabled workers
should be the next step for a manager in the Crowe Howarth business. This will boost
your productivity and overall employee satisfaction, which will in turn lead to more
profits.
Disadvantages and Hiring Fears:
Businesses try to take the least amount of risks as possible when making
managerial decisions like hiring people. Often times when going through the hiring
process, managers would feel frightened to consider a person with a disability. This

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would mean that in the hiring process there is disability bias that goes on. To further
prevent this disability bias, disabled workers are encouraged to further their skills in the
workforce and employers are encouraged to change their perception on people when it
comes to the hiring process (Louvet 2007). Change of perception seems like it may be a
difficult process but it is actually quite simple. If a change of perception is what someone
needs to get rid of their bias then they can simply change their mindset on the whole
situation and look at the big picture. Although it would be great for disabled workers to
further improve their skills in their area of work, it should not be something that people
are encouraged to do just to have a chance at getting a position over someone who is not
disabled that does not have the extra credentials.
Companies would also run into some slight disadvantages when hiring a disabled
worker when they have never had someone who is disabled work for them. There would
need to be an updating process of job descriptions and a few informal meetings with the
staff to be sure everyone is on the same page with the rules of having a disabled co-
worker or employee (Personnel Journal 1996). This is not a huge disadvantage for a
company. Meetings and changes in information are regular when it comes to a business,
hiring disabled workers would simply mean another meeting and another change in
policy.
Many companies’ managers are uninformed on the disabled workforce in this
society. People are scared to not conform to society and do something radical like hiring
a disabled employee. Managers often times believe that disabled employees would bring
a lack of skill sets to the table, have transportation issues, and the belief that disabled
workers will not be able to complete the job (HR Focus 2003). These hiring fears should

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be dissolved if managers would take the time to realize the assets they are missing out on.
Disabled workers will truly benefit the company in more ways than not and that is
exactly what companies need.
Money and Success:
Success in a company is walking away with a profitable day. Money is a strong
motivating reason behind why people choose to make decisions. It is also a strong factor
behind why people choose not to make decisions. According to the Sompayrac, Fulmer &
Turpin accounting firms benefit in more way than one by hiring disabled workers. Not
only do they bring strong productivity rates and intellectual abilities they also show the
customers and future employees what kind of organization they are. They would come
off as a highly accepting organization that does not involve bias in the hiring process.
Customers would also look at this organization and love the idea that they do not care
who you are if you can do the job well then you will work for them. If accounting firms
in the past have been successful and had benefits with hiring disabled individuals then
Crowe Howarth should take some similar steps and increase their profits, productivity,
and customer loyalty by hiring disabled workers.
Conclusion:
Many companies are always looking for ways to improve productivity and
success within their business. The most overlooked asset that trumps other ideas is simply
considering and hiring workers with disabilities. Not only do employers benefit from tax
credits, the company benefits from an enhanced, motivated, happier workforce. It is time

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to eliminate the fears of stepping out of the original societal hiring practices, and become
the better, more diverse organization that we all know is possible.

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References
Advantages & Opportunities In Hiring Disabled Workers. (2003). HR Focus, 80(6), 11.
Dzikowski, D. (1997). Disabled workers are proving their value. Fairfield County
Business Journal, 36(49), 4.
Focusing your recruiting efforts on disabled workers. (1996). Personnel Journal, 75(8),
10.
Louvet, E. (2007). Social Judgment Toward Job Applicants with Disabilities: Perception
of Personal Qualities and Competences. Rehabilitation Psychology.
Mergenhagen, P. (1997). Enabling disabled workers. (cover story). American
Demographics, 19(7), 36.
Parent, W. S., & Everson, J. M. (1986). Competencies of Disabled Workers in Industry:
A Review of Business Literature. Journal Of Rehabilitation, 52(4).
Smith, A. (2014). Employees With Disabilities Can Boost Business Success. Business
News Daily.
Sompayrac, J., Fulmer, J., & Turpin, R. A. (2011). Recruiting the Disabled: Hidden
Assets. CPA Journal, 81(4), 58-61.