Let's Get To Work: The Business Case for Employing People with Disabilities

More information, bios, and transcript available at: https://bbi-dep-rrtc.org/resources/podcast-series/lgtw-beth-23/ Beth Sirull, President and CEO of the National Organization on Disability (NOD), joins the DEP RRTC’s Let’s Get to Work podcast to discuss the future of disability employment policy and why employing people with disabilities “is good for business.” Beth explains that NOD has long focused on employment as a pathway to independence and economic opportunity for people with disabilities because, “if you don't have a way to support yourself, there's just no way that you can manifest the American Dream.” Peter Blanck, University Professor and Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University and Principal Investigator of the DEP RRTC, joins Beth in a conversation about how NOD works with employers to unlock the vast, often overlooked talent pool of people with disabilities. Beth emphasizes that employing people with disabilities results in real benefits to businesses, including lower turnover and stronger employee engagement. “[I]f you hire someone with a disability and you provide them with the accommodation that they need,” she says, “they will not leave. You will have a very loyal, longstanding, productive employee.” Ultimately, Beth emphasizes, disability employment policy is about “putting everyone in a situation where they can be maximally effective in their job, which obviously is what companies want.”