Even with legislation protecting people with disabilities against discrimination and company mission statements touting “equal opportunity employer” status, advocacy groups say people with disabilities are still subjected to unfair treatment regarding hiring opportunities.

Earlier this month, the Disability Employment Subcommittee of the Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities met to analyze initiatives that increase employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

Subcommittee member Carl Richardson, who identifies as deafblind and serves as the Statehouse’s ADA coordinator, said his resume always got him the interview when he was on the job hunt, but what followed after the interview was when things took a turn.

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“The only thing they could focus on was how am I going to get to work every day?” Richardson said. “And I actually said to them, ‘You know what? It’s not your concern whether I can get to work every day. It’s your concern whether I can do the job.’ I blew the interview because of that.”

Of the 62,000 workplace discrimination charges filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over the pandemic, 66% were disability-related. The lawsuits alleged employers had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

In his years of handling employment discrimination cases, Tom Murphy, supervising attorney at the Disability Law Center in Massachusetts, said he sees all kinds of disabilities used against employees.

“Unfortunately, it’s really across the board,” said Murphy. “It could be individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities, individuals with physical disabilities, sensory disabilities, but I would say I probably deal with more cases involving individuals who have a psychiatric diagnosis of some kind.”

Murphy added that case success rates depend on the type of case pursued.

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“If it’s an issue that involves somebody who needs an accommodation currently in the workplace, those are a little more straightforward,” he said. “The focus there is, ‘What is the accommodation that they're seeking? How does it impact their ability to perform the essential functions of their job? And is it reasonable for the employer?’”

“If it's a termination case and somebody's lost their job, for many reasons, it can be a bit more complicated,” Murphy said. “It's pretty rare that there's what we call ‘direct evidence’ of discrimination where [there are] clear words or written statements that an employer has terminated somebody because of their disability, so those are usually more of an indirect method of proof.”

Oz Mondejar, Senior Vice President of Mission & Advocacy at Mass General Brigham, said the myth and anxiety that individuals with disabilities can’t perform their job adequately should also be addressed in diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

“Unlike other communities that employees are required to do work on in terms of inclusion, the disability side doesn’t always get included in the diversity efforts,” Mondejar said. “I’ve lived in those shoes, where we talk about Latino, LGBT, Black [communities], which is terrific, but disability is always a subset.”

Rep. Mathew Muratore, R-Plymouth, said financial incentives could serve as a bridge to get employees “comfortable with the population of people [with disabilities].”

“I think now's the time to act on that because so many employers are looking for so many employees, and they can't get them,” he said. “So this is a population that if somehow we can educate to get rid of the stigma, maybe initial and some more tax credits for them would be helpful.”

There has been traction on Beacon Hill regarding tax credits for employers to hire more people with disabilities.

The Disability Employment Tax Credit states that after a minimum of 12 months of continuous employment, employers can claim a state tax credit, equal to $5,000 or 30% of the wages paid to each qualified employee with a disability … whichever is less.”

Richardson said it might be fruitful to approach promoting the value of hiring people by treating it like a deal.

“I think you have to make a business argument to employers. I would probably say, ‘Listen –according to the last census, almost 20% of people have disabilities,” he said. “By not hiring people with disabilities, you’re segmenting yourself from 20% of the population [that] have an incredible and talented pool. You’re hurting yourself financially.’”

Gyasi Burks-Abbott, who serves on the boards and committees of several autism and disability organizations, including Advocates for Autism of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council, said that, above all, hiring people with disabilities is the right thing to do.

“There’s a deeper argument,” said Burks-Abbott, an autism self-advocate. “Hiring disabled people gives you a different perspective, for instance, that might help you make decisions in a different way, or might change your business.”

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: People with disabilities continue to face employment discrimination