Employers' Attitudes Toward Workers with Disabilities

Abstract

A series of face-to-face structured interviews were conducted with 170 employers in the greater Richmond, Virginia, metropolitan area to assess employers' attitudes toward workers with disabilities as measured by the Scale of Attitudes Toward Workers with Disabilities. Analyses were conducted to determine the relationship between employers' attitudes and their knowledge and perception of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and prior experiences with individuals with disabilities in their personal and professional lives. Employers said that they had extensive professional and personal experience with people with disabilities. Results also indicate that employers' attitudes toward workers with disabilities correlate positively, with their attitudes toward the ADA.