[SURVEY] Number of Disabled Americans Could Be Higher Than Expected; Is It a Problem for Job Applicants?

Disabled Americans could be higher in numbers, as claimed by the Center for American Progress' disability justice initiative director, Mia Ives-Rublee.

The question is, what does having a disability mean during job hunting? Here's what experts say.

Disabled Americans Could Be Higher Than Expected

According to CNBC's latest report, the Pew Research Center recently released a survey to show how many U.S. residents have disabilities.

Based on its database, around 13% of Americans identify as disabled people. Pew's survey stated that this is around 42.5 million disabled U.S. residents.

The American think tank added that the disabilities that residents have are usually hearing, walking, and vision, as well as self-care or independent living difficulties. But, Ives-Rublee explained that this could be an undercount.

She explained that efforts are also conducted to know how many disabled people are working and how many Americans have disabilities.

But, Mia said that the numbers acquired are "always an undercount" because there's a stigma around identifying with the disability.

The Center for American Progress official explained that disabled people can choose if they will self-identify in their job applications or not.

Now, should disabled Americans disclose their disabilities when applying for work or not?

Is It Necessary to Disclose Your Disability?

Ives-Rublee explained that most companies provide three options that Americans can choose when asked about their disability status:

• Yes: Confirming that you have a disability.
• No: Saying you don't have a disability.
• Will not answer the question.

Employers don't really have the right to ask if applicants have disabilities during a job interview. However, they can still include voluntary questions about disabilities.

Ives-Rublee explained that the information about Americans' disabilities can't be flagged by employers.

"Anything around race, disability, and gender are all supposed to be anonymous and are taken for federal reporting guidelines," she added.

This means that you have the option of disclosing your disability or not disclosing it at all.

However, Mia stated that there are many reasons why Americans should consider disclosing their disabilities to their employers.

These include being able to ask for the assistance that applicants legally deserve.

"You have to assess on your own whether disclosing is beneficial to you," said Ives-Rublee.

If you want to learn more details about disclosing disabilities in job applicants, you can click here.

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