“We found that if you put the person with autism in a more independent vocational placement, this led to measurable improvements in their behaviors and daily living skills overall,” said lead author Julie Lounds Taylor, Ph.D., assistant professor of Pediatrics and Special Education and Vanderbilt Kennedy Center investigator. “One core value in the disability community and at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center is placing people with disabilities in the most inclusive environments possible. In addition, this study gives us evidence that increasing the level of independence in an employment or vocational setting can lead to improvements in autism symptoms and other associated behaviors.”
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), “an employer may certainly respond to a question from an employee about why a coworker is receiving what is perceived as ‘different’ or ‘special’ treatment by emphasizing its policy of assisting any employee who encounters difficulties in the workplace.” EEOC goes on to state that an employer “also may find it helpful to point out that many of the workplace issues encountered by employees are personal and that, in these circumstances, it is the employer’s policy to respect employee privacy.” (See Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship under the ADA, question 42.)
Berkman said that “employment is almost always associated with better health” and noted work policies that are linked to better health outcomes: the earned income tax credit program, maternity leave, and other work-family practices.
Another web platform for microenterprises....
So in an effort to become less dependent on an advertising system, Weinersmith recently opened acampaign for SMBC on Patreon, a new funding platform launched in May of this year. It allows an artist’s audience to pay for an artist’s work (becoming a “patron,” hence the name) on a subscription basis, anywhere from a few dollars to $100 a month. In a little over a week, SMBC earned a total monthly pledge of $6,700 from 2,300 readers—well above what Weinersmith was expecting, he says.
This is a web based platform for PWD who have a product or service they would like to offer online.
http://www.disabilitycompendium.org/
The Annual Disability Statistics Compendium is a web-based tool that pools disability statistics published by various federal agencies together in one place. When working on legislative and other matters relating to persons with disabilities, the Compendium will make finding and using disability statistics easier.
40% of persons leaving prison have a significant disability on top of the stigmas of post-incarceration:
TakeAction Minnesota is using its grant to promote new statewide fair hiring standards for businesses, such as persuading prospective employers to consider criminal records only when they directly relate to the position rather than asking questions on applications that promote blanket rejections. Earlier this year, the Minnesota legislature passed the “ban the box” legislation and it was signed into law in May, making Minnesota the third state in the nation to adopt “ban the box” in both the public and private sectors. Under the new law, an employer will no longer be allowed to include a check box about criminal background on the initial employment application.
NewPublicHealth recently spoke with Justin Terrell, manager of the Justice 4 All program at TakeAction Minnesota, about the intersection of employment and health.
NewPublicHealth: What are the ways in which employment impacts health?
Justin Terrell: One of the ways that employment impacts health is that if you have a job, you are more likely to have healthcare coverage or be able to be able to get coverage. But income also has an impact on health — the more money you have left over after paying bills, the less you’re worried about housing, about what you’re eating if you’re not on assistance.
It’s surprising and people don’t often think about it, but income also has an impact on safety. In low-income, under-resourced communities of color like north Minneapolis, where we do a lot of our work, you have people who are ten times more likely to be incarcerated for the same crime committed compared with whites in other communities. Those with criminal records can’t find work. Well, now communities have a safety issue as well because our recidivism rate in Minnesota is 61 percent. We believe in the Homeboy Industries’ slogan: “nothing stops a bullet like a job.” [Editor’s Note:Homeboy Industries is a nonprofit that serves high-risk, formerly gang-involved men and women with free services and programs.]
Karl Tipple, 25, sued Kroger claiming that a store manager at the Plano, Texas location where he worked repeatedly called him a “retarded idiot” who was “too stupid to live.” Tipple said that the harassment occurred for nearly a year before he was fired in December 2011.
Now a federal jury has awarded Tipple more than $450,000 in damages.
This is an interesting organization trying to support freelancers in various ways
The evidence is clear: the independent workforce is growing - and it's good for the economy. This year, independent workers are more satisfied staying independent and continue to make significant contributions to our nation's economic growth.
The drop in unemployment, however, may be at least partly due to fewer people with disabilities looking for work, the data indicates.
Federal officials began tracking employment among people with disabilities in October 2008. There is not yet enough data compiled to establish seasonal trends among this population, so statistics for this group are not seasonally adjusted.