NYC disability advocates say funding cuts threaten job security for workers with special needs
By Mutiu Olawuyi
Disability advocates in New York City are warning that cuts to support organizations are eroding employment stability for workers with disabilities, even as a 40-plus percentage point employment gap separates disabled and non-disabled New Yorkers in the city’s labor market.
The New York Employment Services System reports that only 31.2% of working-age New Yorkers with disabilities, those ages 18 to 64, are employed, compared to 72% of residents without disabilities. The Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities estimates that approximately one million New Yorkers, roughly 11% of the city’s population, live with some form of disability.
Lawrence Seiler, a disability advocate and person with visual impairment who uses a blind cane and assistive technology, said dwindling organizational support is a direct driver of worsening job insecurity for people with disabilities.
“There’s a lot of organizations that are losing their funding,” Seiler said. “And that’s why people are losing job security, especially people with disabilities.”
Seiler, who receives technology assistance from the New York State Commission for the Blind and Lighthouse International, said many workers with disabilities also struggle to access the accommodations they are legally entitled to under the Americans with Disabilities Act because they are unaware of available resources.
“A lot of people with disabilities are either afraid of getting assistance or they just don’t know where to get it,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing.”
Under the ADA, employers are required to provide reasonable workplace accommodations for employees with disabilities. These can include modified equipment such as large-key keyboards, screen magnification software, screen readers and adjusted workstation setups. Research consistently shows most accommodations cost less than $500 to implement.
Seiler, whose family was directly affected by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — his wife sustained injuries and is an amputee — said social stigma compounds the structural barriers people with disabilities face in the workplace.
“There are going to be people that are always going to be slamming the door and people in your face,” he said. “You just have to keep researching.”
The New York City Human Rights Law provides additional disability employment protections beyond federal standards, yet the employment gap has persisted for decades. Advocates say enforcement of existing law remains inconsistent and that employer education on accommodation requirements is inadequate.
Technology has emerged as a key equalizer for workers with visual and other impairments, enabling tasks that would otherwise be inaccessible. Disability employment specialists say expanded access to assistive technology, and employer willingness to support it, remains one of the most actionable steps toward closing the employment gap.
Resources for workers and employers are available through the New York Employment Services System at nyess.ny.gov and the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities at nyc.gov/mopd.
