SHRM Survey Indicates Better Understanding of Tax Incentives Could Increase Hiring of Disabled; Copies of Report Available

4/25/2003

From: Frank Scanlan, 703-535-6043, fscanlan@shrm.org, or Jen Jorgensen, 703-535-6356, jjorgensen@shrm.org both of the Society for Human Resources Management; http://www.shrm.org

ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 25 -- Human resource (HR) professionals believe the government must increase communication regarding tax incentives available to employers designed to enhance the hiring of individuals with disabilities.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) conducted the new Employer Incentives for Hiring Individuals with Disabilities Survey in conjunction with the Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation (CPRF), the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), and Wichita State University (WSU).

"It's unfortunate so few employers have taken advantage of the incentives available to them to hire persons with disabilities," said Deb Cohen, PhD, SPHR, vice president of knowledge development at SHRM. "With one in 10 people estimated to have a severe disability, a large portion of the population is potentially being overlooked during the recruiting and hiring process. Often, employers are unaware of the incentives available to alleviate costs associated with providing accommodations to disabled employees. In addition, employers are often unaware that many accommodations made for people with disabilities are made with no cost to the employer."

HR professionals are reporting confusion over the tax incentives at best, and lack of awareness or fear of compliance related lawsuits at worst.

Some notable findings from the survey include the following:

-- HR professionals believe the ADA has had a positive impact on changing the climate toward hiring individuals with disabilities, yet, they also believe the ADA has created an increased fear of lawsuits from compliance issues.

-- 38 percent of reasonable accommodations made for employees with disabilities cost nothing and an additional 28 percent cost $1,000 or less.

-- 13 percent of respondents report a member of their senior management has a disability.

-- The most used incentive program, with just 16 percent of companies participating, is the Work Opportunity Tax Credit.

-- 77 percent report not using any of the incentive programs for hiring persons with disabilities.

There are seven different tax credits available to companies who hire individuals with disabilities. Less than 20 percent of HR professionals report being very familiar with any of these tax credits.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world's largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 170,000 individual members, the Society's mission is to serve the needs of HR professionals by providing the most essential and comprehensive resources available. As an influential voice, the Society's mission is also to advance the human resource profession to ensure that HR is recognized as an essential partner in developing and executing organizational strategy. Founded in 1948, SHRM currently has more than 500 affiliated chapters within the United States and members in more than 120 countries. Visit SHRM Online at http://www.shrm.org.

------ Note to editors/producers: Copies of the full report and charts are available from contacts upon request.