Navigating Disabilities and Careers
When it comes to exploring your career interests and finding positions, as a student with a disability you may have specific concerns. The Center for Career Engagement is dedicated to not only supporting students through their career development and getting to a point of career readiness through a multitude of services, but also in working to provide specialized support based on your individual situation. If you are wanting to talk more about career-related concerns related to your disability status, here are some examples of subjects you can discuss with a coach (but there are many more as well).
Some common career related concerns for students with disabilities include:
- Should I disclose a disability?
- Should I request accomodations?
- Will the experiences on my resume identify me as having a disability?
We encourage you to make an appointment with a coach to discuss these and other topics.
Resources for Students with Disabilities
- Campus Offices
- WashU Disability Resources – Disability Resources is the official resource for students at WashU who have disabilities or suspected disabilities.
- WashU Learning Center – Their goal is to provide expert guidance to undergraduate students from every academic background—and to equip them for success at WashU and beyond.
- Professional Experience
- Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP) – Federal program to connect federal and select private-sector employers nationwide with college students, graduate students and recent graduates with disabilities who are eager to demonstrate their abilities in the workplace through internships or permanent jobs.
- Local Organizations:
- Starkloff Disability Institute – Workforce, Workplace Disability Advisor – Building inclusion where we live, learn, work, and play through disability-led programs that advance economic opportunity and transform lives. Empowering candidates and improving systems.
- Job Accommodation Network (JAN) – the leading source of free, expert, and confidential guidance on workplace accommodations
- abilityJOBS – Job Board for Disability Talent, helping businesses, governments and nonprofits connect with talented job seekers
- disABLEDperson – We work with employers who have a strong desire to hire qualified applicants with diverse backgrounds. Apply today for a great opportunity to work for a company that is committed to hiring individuals with disabilities
Know Your Rights
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a government agency that is tasked with enforcing laws and regulations relating to employment discrimination. Holistically, this includes discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, familial status, disability, or genetic information. By law, many employers with at least fifteen employees are covered by EEOC-related considerations, which stretch across all forms of work (e.g., hiring and firing, promotion, wages, etc.).
For applicants and employees with disabilities, the EEOC enforces standards against disability discrimination through providing a variety of rights including:
- Fair treatment: Employer are prohibited from treating you differently, or less favorably than those that do not have disabilities.
- Protection against harassment and retaliation: You are protected against harassment and punishment from managers, co-workers, or others in your workplace.
- Reasonable accommodations: You have the right to request reasonable workplace accommodations to allow “you to apply for a job, perform your job, have access to the workplace, or enjoy the same benefits available to other employees”. NOTE: Employers do not have to grant every request, but careful consideration of each request is required along with rather it is possible.
- Medical history disclosure: Employers are strictly limited in what questions can be asked about your health and any information shared is kept private. As an applicants, please be aware of interview questions that are considered improper or illegal. Here are a few examples of illegal interview questions:
- Do you have a disability?
- What medications are you currently taking?
- Have you filed any workers’ compensation claims?
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects people with disabilities from discrimination.
Disability rights are civil rights. From voting to parking, the ADA is a law that protects people with disabilities in many areas of public life.
