October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. And while HR may often look at disability through the lens of labor law compliance, experts say key concerns like equity, belonging and psychological safety should be top of mind. 

People with disabilities are historically underemployed and that data still holds: the U.S. Department of Labor reported that across the board, PWD are less likely to be employed than those with no disability. Specifically, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the unemployment rate for PWD is about twice as high as people without disabilities.

Once talent with disabilities get across the threshold — often, as U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suits show, facing barriers to accommodations in job interviews — these workers lack access to equal pay, fair treatment at work and opportunities for advancement.

The stigma of “disabled” as an identity or the shame around living with a disability still haunts workers. A May 2023 report from Boston Consulting Group suggested employers consider about 4% to 7% of their employees as having a disability, whereas closer to 25% of workers self-identify in this community.

Below are resources that HR can share to show up for people with disabilities, beyond antiquated concerns that workers from these communities are legal liabilities