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Employment Consequences of COVID-19 for People with Disabilities and Employers.
Wong, Jasin; Ezeife, Nnaemezie; Kudla, Angelika; Crown, Deborah; Trierweiler, Robert; Capraro, Pamela; Tomazin, Stephanie; Su, Han; Pham, Tri; Heinemann, Allen W.
  • Wong J; Department of Special Education, National Tsing Hua University, No. 521, Nanda Rd. East Dist., Hsinchu, Taiwan. jswong@bu.edu.
  • Ezeife N; Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, 355 East Erie St., Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
  • Kudla A; Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, 355 East Erie St., Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
  • Crown D; Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, 355 East Erie St., Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
  • Trierweiler R; Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, 355 East Erie St., Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
  • Capraro P; Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, 355 East Erie St., Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
  • Tomazin S; Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, 355 East Erie St., Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
  • Su H; Center for Health Services and Outcomes Research, Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, 633 N. St. Clair St., Suite 2000, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
  • Pham T; University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
  • Heinemann AW; Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, 355 East Erie St., Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
J Occup Rehabil ; 32(3): 464-472, 2022 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1626766
ABSTRACT
Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected the lives of people with disabilities (PWD). How the pandemic affects the employment of PWD and employers has yet to be determined. We aimed to investigate the employment consequences of the pandemic as experienced by PWD and employers. The research questions were (1) What employment effects do PWD experience, and what business changes do employers encounter as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic? (2) What challenges have PWD encountered during the pandemic? Methods Cross-sectional online surveys of 733 PWD and 67 employers in the Midwestern United States. Results Compared to non-disabled peers, PWD encountered more challenges in employment during the pandemic. We found high percentages of both employers and PWD experiencing employment changes and business shutdown during the pandemic. For PWD whose employment was not affected, 14.6% of the participants (n = 107) expected a loss of income and worried about the economic uncertainty of the pandemic. Unemployment for PWD is high due to illness or disability, being laid-off or furloughed, business reductions, and not feeling safe to work. However, only about 18.6% of unemployed PWD (n = 16) received pay or benefits for the time they were not working even though more than half filed for unemployment benefits. Conclusions The pandemic adversely affected employment of PWD as reported by workers and employers. Findings parallel the experience of the non-disabled workforce, but reveal vulnerabilities that reflect disability consequences and the need for job accommodations. Results reveal emergent needs for policy supports to reduce the disparities experienced by PWD in the workplace.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Disabled Persons / COVID-19 Type of study: Observational study / Randomized controlled trials Limits: Humans Language: English Journal: J Occup Rehabil Journal subject: Rehabilitation Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: S10926-021-10012-9

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Disabled Persons / COVID-19 Type of study: Observational study / Randomized controlled trials Limits: Humans Language: English Journal: J Occup Rehabil Journal subject: Rehabilitation Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: S10926-021-10012-9