Special Article
Adequacy and Ability of Corporate America to Meaningfully and Fairly Police its Compliance with its Own, Forward-Moving Standards and Guidelines to Achieve Inclusion
By
John Kemp [view bio]
Disability rights advocate and principal at Powers, Pyle, Sutter and Verville, P.C.
In the past articles of the DDQ series [see Article 1, Article 2, Article 3, and Article 4], I have focused on the first three of five factors that score identifiable characteristics used to measure diversity and disability in the context of our corporate structure and business practices. To review, those factors are:
- Progress on accessibility in the built environment (and repair/removal of the old inaccessible environment);
- Examination of policies, practices, and procedures that promote inclusion and equal access, such as capital and software purchases, and testing of new ways to identify how work can be performed;
- Current and recurrent training, education and awareness programs that advance these inclusion principles among staff, vendors and customers;
- Adequacy or ability of Corporate America to meaningfully and fairly police its compliance with its own, forward-moving standards and guidelines to achieve inclusion; and,
- Rewards, recognition and transferability of this acquired knowledge, skills and lessons to other corporations who hire and serve customers with disabilities within a wider, completely diverse workforce and society.
In this article, I will focus on the fourth factor, which deals with Corporate America's ability to implement and enforce their inclusion policies. More specifically, what policies should be included in your company's compliance activities? How can your organization develop a compliance plan and what should be included in that plan?
- Know the law and how it applies to your specific organization, employees, and visitors.
Before setting up a compliance plan, you must know what laws apply to your organization. The primary federal law in this area is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which applies to all but the very smallest companies. If your company does business with the federal government, either as a contractor or grantee, you may also be governed by the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which contains similar requirements to the ADA. One of the major principles of the ADA is that an employer must make “reasonable accommodations” for disabled individuals, such as modifications in the work, job application process, work environment, job structure, equipment, employment practices or the way the job is performed so that a qualified individual with a disability can perform the essential functions of the job. Title I of the ADA deals specifically with employment and prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in every aspect of employment, from recruitment and hiring to promotion, compensation, leave, benefits, and training. Your business may also need to comply with Title III, which requires that places of public accommodation ensure accessibility and non-discrimination in their dealing with members of the public with disabilities.
- Identify your Company's goals own inclusion and fairness goals
While compliance with the law is essential, this should be viewed as the minimum – not the maximum. Your company should establish its own visionary and forward-looking standards and policies which go beyond the minimum required by federal and state laws. Many of these standards and policies have been discussed in earlier articles in this series. They include affirmative steps to recruit individuals with disabilities; restructuring of jobs and the workplace environment, as needed, to attract and retain such individuals, and creation of a culture of inclusion and accommodation. Businesses now view heightened (beyond compliance) accessibility features as a marketing edge, a competitive advantage when seeking our new sources of employees and customers.
- Designate an individual to lead your organization in its efforts to comply with the law.
This person, sometimes referred to as compliance officer, should have overall responsibility for your organization's policies and guidelines in relation to compliance. If your company is large, you may want to establish a corporate compliance committee, from different departments in order to make sure each department is specifically complying with federal and state regulations. Obviously, such individuals should be familiar with the law and legal requirements applicable to the plan. They should regularly assess, monitor, and evaluate the activities of their departments to make sure the goals of the program are being accomplished. The officer and/or committee should directly report to the CEO and governing body of the organization. If a committee approach is used, considering including at least one individual with a disability on that committee.
- Self-assess your organization to identify existing discriminatory policies or practices.
You may want to survey your staff to get a snapshot of current practices and overall employee understanding of law and company policies in this area. Areas to cover should include number of employees with disabilities (which will tell you if you are successfully recruiting and retaining), whether company recruitment practices encourage applications from individuals with disabilities, awareness of accommodation requirements, availability and use of assistive technology, removal of physical barriers, removal of communication barriers, and training of human resources personnel and supervisors. The individual or committee responsible for compliance is a logical choice to conduct this self-assessment, and it is the starting point for creating your business's compliance program. Hiring a consultant to conduct the self-assessment from an expert, outsider's view, may assure objectivity and also prove helpful in developing your plan.
- Create a plan
After getting a snapshot of your organization's overall compliance environment, you should be ready to create an actual compliance plan. First, identify current problems revealed as a result of your self-assessment. What were the main findings of the survey and what are the barriers to each element of inclusion? What are possible remedies to the current problems? The plan should lay out processes and procedures for regular review of company practices in all areas with particular attention to problem areas identified in the self-assessment. For example, if your company is not meeting its recruitment goals, the plan should identify corrective action that may need to be taken including specific goals and timetables.
It is important to remember that a compliance plan is a living, breathing document – not something that sits on the shelf collecting dust. Creating the plan is only the beginning. This means once you have created your plan, it must be implemented and revised to reflect new and changing conditions.
- Make sure your policies on accessibility are widely available to your employees and the public
Your firm should adopt a policy statement and written standards and procedures that promote and establish your commitment to those with disabilities while complying with federal and state regulations. These standards and policies should be available on the firm website and widely disseminated throughout the company.
- Train your employees
All employees should be aware of federal and state laws related to discrimination and inclusion and the company's commitment to upholding those laws. This could include possible disciplinary action for employees who violate the law or company policy. Supervisors should be trained in the law and company policies and understand their responsibilities in this area and that their performance review will include this as a factor. Training and education should take place on a regular basis so that staff is up to date on the law and on the company's goals and policies.
- Create a complaint process
The company should identify a process such as a hotline or mailbox that allows for reporting of complaints on an anonymous basis. In addition, the company should make it clear that individuals seeking accommodation will have their needs addressed without fear of retaliation. You should view the complaint process as a potential source of valuable information about what may be going on in your company. This can help avert potential litigation and can lead to improvements in company policies.
- Implementation of the Plan
In order for a plan to be effective, it must be implemented. This means it should identify actions to be taken, clearly identify the individuals responsible for those actions, the timetable or frequency of such actions, and how those actions will be evaluated. For example, if a goal is to establish a compliant process, the plan should identify who will develop the process, who will approve it (if necessary), how it will be communicated to employees, and who will be responsible for handling complaints. Similarly, if physical barriers are identified as a problem, the plan should identify a process for resolving problems created by such barriers, including a timetable.
John D. Kemp is a long-time disability rights advocate and principal at Powers, Pyle, Sutter and Verville, P.C. Please direct questions for John to info@disability-marketing.com.