Verizon Small Business Center .pdf | Wall Street Journal article .pdf – Enterprise Dispatch – Oct. 28, 2010 — Sarah E. Needleman

Hiring Disabled Workers Can Mean Tax Breaks

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Small businesses employ more than half of disabled workers in the U.S., according to the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. But this segment of the population is still struggling to land work, with an unemployment rate of 14.8% in September, compared with 9% for those with no disability.

Robert Stack, president of Community Options Inc., a Princeton, N.J., nonprofit that tries to help disabled workers find jobs, says small-business owners tend to assume such individuals require more time off for doctors’ visits than nondisabled professionals. Others are afraid of getting sued if they have to lay off an employee with a disability, he says.

“They should try to look beyond the disability and focus on how the person can help them,” he says. “A disabled person is usually grateful to get a job and apt to be on time.”

Verizon Small Business Center .pdf | Wall Street Journal article .pdf