III. HUMAN RESOURCES AND INTERNATIONAL SECTIONS
REFEREED PAPERS

Discrimination in the Workplace:
Perceptions and Responses of People With Disabilities

LISA SCHUR
Rutgers University

Abstract

      To what extent do people with disabilities perceive employment discrimination, and how do they respond to discriminatory treatment? Results from a nationally representative survey show that about one tenth of people with disabilities report encountering some type of employment discrimination over the 1995-2000 period, most commonly from losing or being denied a job. Union members, the self-employed, and those who meet regularly with groups are the most likely to report discrimination. Over one third of respondents reporting discrimination say they took some action in response, most commonly in the form of verbal complaints or working with a lawyer. A majority said their experience made them more likely to take action against discrimination in the future. An estimated 2.2 million people with disabilities perceived employment discrimination during this period, indicating a continuing need for policies to ensure equal treatment in the workplace.

 

Over the past 15 years there has been a great deal of attention paid to increasing the employment of people with disabilities, epitomized by the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. Title I of the Act prohibits employment discrimination and requires reasonable accommodations for qualified employees and job applicants with disabilities. The continuing low employment rates of people with disabilities since the passage of the ADA raise the prospect that discrimination continues to restrict the job opportunities of many people with disabilities.

      To what extent do people with disabilities perceive employment discrimination, and how do they respond to discriminatory treatment? This paper uses data from a new nationally representative survey to examine reports of disability discrimination over the 1995-2000 period. While analyses of pay gaps can shed important light on the possibility of discriminatory treatment, surveys can capture experiences that do not show up in standard measures (such as lack of access to jobs among those who remain nonemployed). This paper also provides new data on who takes action against perceived discrimination, what kind of action they take, and how satisfied they are with their efforts. The result is a unique picture of perceptions and responses to employment discrimination among people with disabilities.

Literature Review

      Disability has been consistently linked to labor market difficulties in many studies. About 8 percent of working-age Americans report a "work disability" (having a health condition that limits the kind or amount of work they can do), of whom only one third are employed in the course of a year (Burkhauser et al. 2001). Using a broader definition based on activity limitations and functional impairments (more closely reflecting the ADA's definition), 17 percent of working-age people have a disability, of whom about half (49 percent) are employed in a given month compared to over four fifths (84 percent) of working-age people without disabilities (McNeil 2000). The figure is much lower among those with severe disabilities, of whom only one fourth (24 percent) are employed in a given month. Among those who are employed, a variety of studies have estimated that people with disabilities earn 10-25 percent less on average than otherwise comparable people without disabilities (summarized in Baldwin 1997:43). Negative effects of disability on employment and earnings have been found in both cross-sectional and longitudinal comparisons before and after disability onset (Burkhauser and Daly 1996).

      While a portion of the employment and earnings gaps is probably due to lower productivity associated with many disabilities, prejudice and discrimination may also play a role, as suggested by the finding that wage gaps are higher for people who have disabilities that elicit the most negative social attitudes (Baldwin 1997). In addition, the work disincentives provided by government disability income programs also appear to contribute to the low employment rates of people with disabilities (Bound and Waidmann 2000).

      Low employment and earnings levels of people with disabilities have been a major impetus for antidiscrimination legislation. Employment discrimination against people with disabilities is prohibited by the Rehabilitation Act for organizations receiving federal funds, and prohibited by Title I of the ADA for private employers with more than 15 employees. In the first 7 years after the ADA became effective, 125,946 ADA charges were filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission <http://www.eeoc.gov/stats/ada-charges.html>. Analyzing ADA appellate court rulings, Lee (2001) and Colker (1999) found that plaintiffs lose in the large majority of ADA cases. The low success rate for plaintiffs partly reflects legal barriers facing workers who file disability claims, as noted by many scholars (Colker 1999; Lee 2001).

      There has been very little research on perceptions of disability discrimination among people with disabilities. Hallock et al. (1998) found that 53 percent of people with disabilities in a 1993 survey reported having experienced job discrimination based on disability at some point in their lives. These authors found that the self-reports of past disability discrimination were not strongly linked to current economic measures of wage discrimination. They noted, however, that many who perceive discrimination felt that it occurs in areas other than pay. (In fact, reports of discrimination in promotions were over four times higher, and reports of discrimination in getting a job were seven times higher, than reports of pay discrimination; Hallock et al. 1998: 261.) They also found that measures of wage discrimination were strongly linked to perceptions of income inadequacy.

Data Source

      The dataset for this study comes from a nationally representative random-household telephone survey of people with and without disabilities, conducted by the Rutgers Center for Public Interest Polling in November and December of 2000. The final sample includes 1002 U.S. citizens of voting age, of whom 500 had responded to a similar survey in November and December 1998, while 502 were drawn from a new cross-section of households. To ensure a sufficient sample for analysis of disability issues, the sample was stratified to oversample people with disabilities, resulting in a final sample of 570 adult citizens without disabilities and 432 adult citizens with disabilities.

      The disability screening questions were based on the six disability questions used in the 2000 Census. If the initial household respondent answered no to each of the Census questions, indicating that no one in the household had any of these impairments or activity limitations, she or he was asked two questions from the Harris disability survey regarding whether anyone considers herself or himself--or is considered by others--to have a disability. For purposes of this study, a yes response to any of these questions identified a person as having a disability. The interviewer then asked to speak to the person with a disability, and if more than one person was identified, the interviewer asked to speak to the person with the most recent birthday. Based on the screening process, about 12.5 percent of the adult population, or 24 million people, meet this study's definition of disability.

      Respondents were asked standard questions on employment status and demographic characteristics drawn from the Current Population Survey. To measure perceived disability discrimination, respondents were asked,

There is much talk these days about discrimination on the basis of health problems or disabilities with regard to jobs, or school admissions, or housing, or other important things. In the last five years, have you yourself been discriminated against on the basis of a health problem or disability?

Those who responded "yes" were asked,

"What kind of discrimination did you experience?"

"Did you take any action in response to this?"

"What kind of action did you take?"

"What was the result of your efforts?"

"How satisfied were you with your efforts, on a scale from 1 to 10 where 1 is not at all satisfied and 10 is totally satisfied?"

"Based on your experience, are you more, less, or just as likely as before to take some action if you encounter treatment like this in the future?"

To gain the richest information, the answers to the first four of these ad-ditional questions were coded verbatim.

Results

      Nearly one fifth, or 18.1 percent, of people with disabilities said that they had experienced some kind of disability discrimination in the past 5 years, as shown in Table 1. Half of these respondents (9.3 percent of the overall sample) reported some type of employment discrimination. While the overall reports of discrimination were similar between the currently employed and nonemployed, those who are employed were significantly more likely to report employment discrimination. Among people without current disabilities, only 1.8 percent reported experiencing disability discrimination within the past 5 years.

      The most common type of reported employment discrimination was being denied a job. While one might expect the nonemployed to be more likely to report this, those who are currently employed were more likely to report being denied a job. The currently nonemployed were most likely to report having lost a job due to disability discrimination.

      Slightly over one third (37.2 percent) of people with disabilities reporting employment discrimination said that they took some action in response. As shown in Table 1, the most common responses involved verbal complaints to supervisors or managers, working with lawyers, and speaking with lawyers but not pursuing the issue. Most of those who took some action did not appear to be very satisfied with the results: The average satisfaction rating on a 1-10 scale was 3.8, and only 29 percent of the people indicated a great deal of satisfaction with a response of 7 or higher. Nevertheless, when asked whether their experience made them more or less likely to take action if they were to experience similar treatment in the future, a majority (56.5 percent) responded that they were more likely, and almost one third (30.4 percent) said that they were just as likely as before to take action.

      Who is most likely to report employment discrimination? Table 2 presents probits for the disability sample assessing the influence of demographic, disability, and employment characteristics on perceptions of discrimination. Women and older respondents were less likely to report experiencing employment discrimination, reflecting in part their lower labor force participation. While some authors have suggested that those with more stigmatized disabilities, such as mental impairments, are more likely to experience discrimination, these results show that those with mobility impairments were the most likely to report discrimination. One might also expect that people with more severe disabilities would face greater stigma and discrimination, but respondents who need help with daily activities were not significantly more likely to report discrimination (possibly reflecting greater isolation and a lower likelihood of searching for employment).

      Reports of employment discrimination were more likely among those who meet regularly with groups and those who consider themselves to have a disability. The former result probably reflects greater integration into mainstream society and greater exposure to information about discrimination. The latter result may indicate an unwillingness to acknowledge disability discrimination among those who have impairments that they do not view as disabling.

      Education might be expected to have both positive and negative effects on the likelihood of reporting discrimination. Employers might be more likely to discriminate against less-educated people, since they would be less likely to have sufficient knowledge to detect discrimination (Barbezat and Hughes 1990). While well-educated people might be less subject to discrimination, they may be more likely to recognize and report it (Kuhn 1987). These results show that education was a positive but nonsignificant predictor of perceived discrimination.

      In contrast to the simple difference in Table 1, current employment is not a significant predictor of perceived employment discrimination in the first probit in Table 2. However, when several employment characteristics are broken out in probit 2, union members and the self-employed were significantly more likely to report experiencing employment discrimination. Being a union member exposes people to information and support networks that might encourage the reporting of discriminatory treatment. In addition, "just cause" provisions in most union contracts may encourage people to recognize and respond to discrimination. The higher reports of employment discrimination among the self-employed probably reflect a resort to self-employment among those who lost or were denied jobs as employees.

Conclusion

      About one fifth of people with disabilities report having experienced some form of disability discrimination between 5 and 10 years after the passage of the ADA, and about one tenth say they have experienced employment discrimination during this period. While it is encouraging that a majority of people with disabilities do not report disability discrimination, the results of this survey can be extrapolated to estimate that about 2.2 million people with disabilities perceived employment discrimination during this period. Over one third of those who perceived discrimination took some form of action against it, but most were not very satisfied with the results of their efforts. While some survey respondents may falsely attribute losing or failing to get a job to discrimination, leading to an overestimate of disability discrimination, it is also likely that some respondents are not aware of discriminatory treatment against them. The large number of reports of discrimination, combined with the continuing low employment rates of people with disabilities and the difficulties plaintiffs face in disability discrimination lawsuits, indicate that many people with disabilities continue to face substantial employment barriers. Public policies must continue to focus on enhancing employment opportunities for people with disabilities and ensuring that they receive equal treatment in the workplace.

Acknowledgments

      The survey upon which this paper is based was designed in collaboration with Kay Schriner, Todd Shields, and Doug Kruse, and was funded by the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research and the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities. The author bears responsibility for all analysis and conclusions.

References

Baldwin, Marjorie L. 1997. "Can the ADA Achieve Its Employment Goals?" Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 549 (January), pp. 37-52.

Barbezat, Debra A., and James W. Hughes. 1990. "Sex Discrimination in Labor Markets: The Role of Statistical Evidence: Comment." American Economic Review, Vol. 80, '8-86.

Bound, John, and Timothy Waidmann. 2000. "Accounting for Recent Declines in Employment Rates among the Working-age Disabled." Research Report 00-460, Population Studies Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, October.

Burkhauser, Richard V., and Mary C. Daly. 1996. "Employment and Economic Well-Being Following the Onset of a Disability." In Mashaw et al., eds., Disability, Work, and Cash Benefits. Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, pp. 59-101.

Burkhauser, Richard V., Andrew J. Houtenville, and Nigar Nargis. 2001. "Economic Outcomes of Working-Age People over the Business Cycle: An Examination of the 1980s and 1990s." Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, March.

Colker, Ruth. 1999. "The Americans With Disabilities Act: A Windfall for Defendants." Harvard Civil Rights--Civil Liberties Law Review, Vol. 34.

Hallock, Kevin F., Wallace Hendricks, and Emer Broadbent. 1998. "Discrimination by Gender and Disability Status: Do Worker Perceptions Match Statistical Measures?" Southern Economic Journal, Vol. 65, no. 2, pp. 245-63.

Kuhn, Peter. 1987. "Sex Discrimination in Labor Markets: The Role of Statistical Evidence," American Economic Review, Vol. 77, pp. 567-83.

Lee, Barbara. 2001. "The Implications of ADA Litigation for Employers: A Review of Federal Appellate Court Decisions." Human Resource Management, Vol. 40, no. 1 (Spring), pp. 35-50.

McNeil, John. 2000. "Employment, Earnings, and Disability." U.S. Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC.