AccessComputing

Hiring the best and brightest team members is top priority for any employer. But, recruiting diverse applicant pools requires inclusive hiring practices from the start. Follow these five steps to recruit competitive applicants with disabilities.

Whether in person or online, there are concrete steps that anyone can take to ensure that their meetings, events, and presentations are more accessible to a wide audience. Begin by thinking about who might face barriers to an event. These may be disability-related barriers for individuals who are blind or have low vision, deaf or hard of hearing, have mobility impairments, or have other disabilities. Also consider whether events are accessible to non-native speakers of English, individuals connecting to virtual meetings via phone, or other groups.

Title II of the ADA (which covers public postsecondary institutions) requires that public institutions must give "primary consideration" to the requests of the individual with a disability when determining what type of auxiliary aid and service is necessary (28 C.F.R. §35.160(b)(2)). For example, a student might request that the institution purchase a specific kind of assistive technology, such as screen enlargement software, as an individual accommodation so the student could access the web for educational activities.