[ad_1]
The average American worker saw their wages increase more than 5% over the past year, but for the millions of workers with disabilities in the United States, a surprisingly large pay gap remains.
Recent data from Atticus—a company that helps connect people in crisis with various forms of government aid and insurance—finds that U.S. workers with disabilities earned an average of 42% less than their counterparts without disabilities, and they are also 10% less likely to have received a pay raise over the past year. The figures, sourced from Census Bureau data and a survey of 1,000 workers (500 with disabilities, and 500 without), represent the largest pay gap in the past decade, with the average worker with a disability earning roughly $13,000 less than a worker without a disability.
The pay gap issue becomes more pertinent when imposed against the fact that more and more people with disabilities are working and that many workers may become disabled in the coming years. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that a growing number of people with disabilities are employed—21.3% as of 2022, up from 19.1% the year prior—and that half of workers with a disability are over the age of 65. Thirty-two percent of seniors between the ages of 65 and 69 had a job as of early 2023, up from 25% or so in 2000, meaning seniors are now more likely to be working than the typical American teenager.
Not only that, but it’s possible that more workers of all ages could self-identify as having a disability. That’s because more workers are becoming aware of how broad the definition can be, according to Craig E. Leen, a partner at K&L Gates in Washington, D.C., and former Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).
In short: It’s not unreasonable to think that the share of workers who have a disability could increase in the future, and those workers should be aware that there could be differences in their compensation.
“If you really took the broad definition of ‘disability,’ a majority of Americans might have one,” he says, as the definition of such under federal law pertaining to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a person with a physical or mental impairment that limits their major life activities. Leen says it could include people who suffer from migraine headaches or ADHD, for example—there are many listed on the OFCCP’s Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability form.
Leen also says that the pay gap experienced by workers with disabilities is nothing new. In his experience, he estimates it to be “closer to 20% or 25%, but it really depends on how you measure it.” Overall, he says, “it’s not a surprising figure, and it’s been well-documented.”
Recourse for underpaid employees
As for what workers with disabilities can do if they feel like they’re being shortchanged or treated unfairly by an employer? There are several potential avenues to seek recourse, and that includes bringing the issue to the attention of their manager or supervisor, looking at what types of protections they have under disability rights laws, and reaching out to advocacy groups or talking to a lawyer about their options.
Leen adds that “the largest untapped source of skilled labor in the workforce is people with disabilities,” and that those workers could be a new hotbed of talent. “It’s important to do right by our fellow Americans who are disabled,” he says. “This is something that companies should really invest in.”
[ad_2]
Source link