Hiring People who are Blind: Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What kind of questions can I ask a job applicant who is blind or visually impaired? 

A. If the person has disclosed a disability or a need for an accommodation or if the disability is obvious, the law permits you to ask what accommodations he or she will need for the interview or testing.  Your questions should always focus on the person's abilities as they relate to essential functions of the job, not the disability itself.  (For example, you might say, "This job requires editing documents, both in print and on the computer.  How would you go about completing that task?")  You might even request evidence or demonstration of a specific skill or expertise provided that you ask this of all other applicants as well.  (For example, you might ask all individuals applying for an editor position to proofread a document with or without reasonable accommodations.)

You cannot ask about the nature of the disability, its prognosis or cause nor can you inquire about how a person's past attendance record was affected by his or her disability.  Interviewers should also refrain from asking a disabled applicant how his or her disability would affect non-job-related tasks, such as, "How do you put on your make-up if you can't see?" 

Q. A blind person will probably need special equipment in order to do this job that I can't afford.  Couldn't I just save myself a lot of trouble and money by not hiring this person?

A. According to the National Federation of the Blind, statistically, you're more likely to save money by hiring someone who is blind or visually impaired.  Studies have shown that qualified blind and visually impaired employees have longer job tenure and work harder than their sighted peers.  A poll by Louis Harris reported that 39% of employers felt that their employees with disabilities were more reliable than their non-disabled counterparts and 42% believed them to be equally reliable. 

While the ADA does require you as an employer to provide reasonable accommodations to job applicants and employees with disabilities, the law intends for this to be a negotiating process.  Employers do not have to provide accommodations that would pose an undue hardship on their company and there are tax incentives and other financial and technical resources at your fingertips to simplify the process. 

Q. I don't think we have any jobs at our company that a blind person can do.  Am I supposed to create a job for this person?

A. The ADA does not require you to create new jobs or waive essential functions of a job in order to accommodate a worker with a disability.  Chances are, there are plenty of jobs at your company that a blind person could do and would be happy to do with minimal accommodations.  Blind and visually impaired people have excelled at countless careers, including elementary school teachers, social workers, paralegals, attorneys, software programmers, secretaries, accountants, stockbrokers, carpenters, nurses, food service workers, electrical engineers, medical transcriptionists, and television producers. 

Often times, one of the biggest challenges that potential employers have to overcome is the way they view the jobs at their companies.  A blind person may be able to accomplish the same task, but might go about it in a different way than a sighted person - this is called outcome over process. 

Q. If I hire a person who is blind, will my insurance rates go up?  Will this person be safe? 

A. Insurance rates do not go up when you hire a person with a disability, including someone who is blind or visually impaired. Insurance statistics have shown that blind and visually impaired workers do not have a higher accident rate than the general population. 

In fact, most studies show that they actually have fewer accidents than their sighted peers on the job.

Most have received the appropriate training to travel safely and independently, whether they use a white cane, a guide dog or their vision and other senses. 

The majority of people who are blind or visually impaired use more than one method to get around and choose the best one depending on the situation.  Generally, adults know what they can handle when it comes to their vision and most people would use common sense and try not to put themselves in harm's way.  A blind employee will likely not be reckless or careless when it comes to his or her vision.

Q. I'm afraid that I'll have a discrimination lawsuit on my hands if I have to fire or layoff an employee who is blind.  Can I fire a blind person if it doesn't work out? 

A. Most people who are blind or visually impaired hope to be held to the same standards as their coworkers.  Nobody expects special treatment.  The ADA makes protections for such concerns.  No unqualified job applicant or employee with a disability can claim employment discrimination under the ADA .  Employees who are blind or visually impaired must meet all the requirements of the job and perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodations.  If an employee with a disability is not performing up to par and accommodations have been exhausted, you're within your right to treat that employee as you would any other employee.  The same applies to downsizing and layoffs. 

Q. How will a deaf-blind person function in the workplace if nobody here knows sign language?  Do we need an interpreter around every time we talk to the person?  It's unreasonable to require us to have someone available all day long to assist this person.

A. Individuals who are deaf-blind can often utilize several different communication methods.  While it might be a good idea to generally familiarize yourself with your employee's preferred method of communication, you're not expected to be an expert.  If a person uses sign language, for example, try to learn the alphabet and a few basic signs.  Depending on a person's level of hearing and vision, other methods might be used.  For example, you might have a conversation by using email or using instant message applications instead of speaking face-to-face.

Adaptive technology can be a huge asset to deaf-blind workers.  Examples of such technology might include refreshable Braille displays on a computer, amplified telephone receivers, TTY or TDD communication aids and flashing lights to indicate auditory cues like fire alarms, doorbells or pages. 

For many individuals who have multiple disabilities, job coaching might also be an option to help ease the transition into a new job and help the person to learn the job tasks without putting added pressure on the employer.  Agencies like The Chicago Lighthouse offer supported employment that can provide a job coach to assist in such a capacity at no cost to the employer.