Live: Accessible Hiring Documents and Materials 101
taught by: Jonathan Paul Katz
Session Summary
This presentation will teach attendees about accessibility for digital materials used in the hiring process, including documents, applications, and online information. Topics will include legal requirements, making these materials readable and usable by applicants with disabilities and through assistive technology and how this access relates to workplace inclusion and reasonable accommodations.
Description
Watch this presentation on the Knowbility Learning Center
People with disabilities often face barriers when applying for jobs, because the hiring materials are inaccessible. They may not be able to complete an application, learn about an interview offer, or even find a posting. As a result, these talented candidates lose opportunities – and employers do not get to benefit from their talents. This session will explore how hiring materials can be made accessible. It will begin with explaining what accessibility in hiring materials is – and how all applicants, with and without disabilities, benefits. Then, there will be an overview of legal requirements, including the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, and how they relate to accessible hiring materials.
Then, the session will go through various aspects of accessible and usable digital hiring materials, including documents, online application systems, information and job postings, outreach to candidates, and other related materials. This training will not be organized by type of material, but rather by access needs, such as “provide alternative formats” and “connect people to human help.” Throughout, participants will have simple exercises to apply what they learn, and see examples from the federal government of accessible hiring materials.
The session will conclude with suggested resources and a question and answer session.
Practical Skills
- Participants will learn how to ensure that the materials they use to recruit and hire candidates are accessible for people with disabilities, including job postings, candidate outreach, application and document upload systems, and onboarding materials.
- Participants will learn how accessibility and accessible technology intersect with, and support, fair hiring.
- Participants will learn about how accessible hiring materials relates to other aspects of workplace inclusion for people with disabilities, including legal requirements and reasonable accommodations.