People with disabilities, including Latinx/Hispanics with disabilities, have the right to be employed in integrated and competitive work, just like their colleagues without disabilities. However, Latinx/Hispanics and other people with disabilities may experience barriers to employment. These barriers may include a lack of accessible transportation, a lack of accommodations in the workplace, and a lack of supported employment opportunities. They may also include physical barriers, such as multi-story buildings with no elevator or ramp access, and no accessible bathrooms, among others. For Latinx/Hispanics with disabilities, these barriers to employment may include a lack of culturally appropriate support, racist and ableist attitudes among employers and co-workers, and language barriers, among others. Laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (in Spanish) and the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA), help all people with disabilities by setting legal standards in recruiting, hiring, and retaining employees that employers must follow.
NARIC’s bilingual information specialist is often asked for information and resources related to employment by Latinx/Hispanics with disabilities, their families and friends, service providers, and employers. For Hispanic Heritage Month, we are sharing Spanish-language consumer products on employment that are funded by NIDILRR. They may include guides, factsheets, and calendars, among others.
Below, you will find just a few examples of evidence-based consumer products on employment produced by the NIDILRR community:
- The ADA Network Knowledge Translation Center provides factsheets in Spanish for individuals with disabilities and employers (in Spanish) to learn more about their rights and responsibilities under the ADA. These factsheets include:
- information on reasonable adaptations in the workplace (in Spanish),
- changes in the ADA from the perspectives of employers (in Spanish) and employees (in Spanish),
- and the ADA and small businesses (in Spanish), among others.
- Several of the ADA National Network’s Regional Centers also provide technical assistance and information in Spanish, including the Southeast ADA Regional Center (in Spanish), the Southwest ADA Regional Center (in Spanish), and the Northeast ADA Regional Center (in Spanish).
- The Learning and Working During the Transition to Adulthood Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (Transitions ACR) develops and shares new knowledge about core concepts, interventions, and policies to greatly improve the transition to employment for youth and young adults with serious mental health conditions from all communities, including Latinx/Hispanic communities. This Center provides factsheets in Spanish on employment and transition to employment, including:
- Interesting Features of Vocational Supports (in Spanish)
- Making It Work: Vocational Peer Mentors for Emerging Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions (in Spanish)
- Do I Tell My Boss?: Discussing My Mental Health Condition at Work (in Spanish), and
- Applying for a Job: The Young Adult’s Guide (in Spanish), among others.
- NARIC’s Research In Focus series (in Spanish) features reader-friendly summaries of the latest research from NIDILRR-funded projects and presents an overview of a recently-published NIDILRR-funded study, highlights important findings, and discusses implications or directions for future research. These summaries include:
- Although not specific to Latinx/Hispanics with disabilities, Both Employers and Workers with Disabilities are Feeling the Effects of COVID-19 on Employment and Earnings discusses a NIDILRR-funded study that examined the effects of COVID-19 on the employment of people with disabilities and on employers. The researchers wanted to understand the subsequent employment and financial challenges experienced by people with disabilities.
- The article, Latina Family Caregivers in Rural Areas Turn to Their Community to Support Young Adults with Disabilities in Transition (in Spanish), discusses a NIDILRR-funded study where researchers interviewed Latina immigrants in a rural town who were family members of young adults with disabilities. The researchers wanted to find out what factors helped or hindered the caregiver’s involvement in their child’s plans to transition into the workplace.
- NARIC’s Ask a Librarian series (in Spanish) answers questions related to a myriad of topics, including employment for people with disabilities. This includes:
- Is there money to help me start a business? (in Spanish)
- and What is Vocational Rehabilitation? (in Spanish), among others.
To learn more about these and other products from the NIDILRR community, contact NARIC’s information specialists.
