Need to Know

• The restoration industry is experiencing a labor shortage, but many employers are overlooking a large pool of potential employees — people with disabilities.
• The cleaning and restoration industries are well suited to a skills-first approach. Employers should evaluate candidates against the role’s essential functions rather than against assumptions about disability or a nontraditional work history.
• Accommodation does not have to be costly, and support is not the opposite of accountability. Good support creates the conditions in which accountability is fair, understandable, and achievable.
• Restorers can work with state vocational rehabilitation agencies to identify potential candidates.

This is not a case for charity, lowered standards, or inventing jobs that do not serve the business. Nobody needs another well-intended initiative that produces a nice photo, a press release, and very little operational value. It is a case for recognizing ability more accurately, removing unnecessary barriers, and matching people to real work with clear expectations and appropriate support.

A Talent Pool Too Large to Overlook

Disability is not rare or remote. The World Health Organization estimates that 1.3 billion people, about 16% of the global population or roughly one in six people, experience significant disability. WHO also describes disability as the interaction between a health condition and personal or environmental factors, including negative attitudes, inaccessible transportation or buildings, and limited social support.^[1] That framing matters because it moves the discussion away from a person’s diagnosis alone and toward the conditions that either enable or obstruct participation.

Disability is also part of the human experience. A person may be born with a disability or acquire one through illness, injury, aging, or a health condition. Some disabilities are apparent; many are not. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, disability includes a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a history or record of such an impairment, or being perceived by others as having such an impairment.^[2]

For employers, the practical point is simple: disability is not “someone else.” It may describe a current employee, a future applicant, a customer, a family member, or any one of us at another point in life.

The Employment Gap Is a Workforce Opportunity

The employment data shows a substantial divide. In 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 22.8% of people with a disability were employed, compared with 65.2% of people without a disability. The unemployment rate was 8.3% for people with a disability and 4.1% for people without a disability.^[3] 

These figures should command the attention of leaders in cleaning, restoration, remediation, and facilities management. Employers regularly report difficulty finding dependable people, while a large segment of the population remains underrepresented in employment. We cannot keep saying there is no talent and then overlook an entire talent pool because it does not arrive through the channels we are used to. The gap is more than a social concern. It is a workforce strategy opportunity.

Our industries are well suited to a skills-first approach. The work often includes structured tasks, hands-on learning, clear procedures, measurable quality standards, teamwork, and results employees can see at the end of a shift or project. None of that means every person fits every job. It means employers should evaluate candidates against the role’s essential functions rather than against assumptions about disability or a nontraditional work history.

Start With Ability, Not Assumption

The greatest barrier is often an assumption made before a person is given a fair opportunity. Employers may worry that a candidate cannot perform the work, that an accommodation will be expensive, that a supervisor will need to lower expectations, or that productivity will suffer. That is an impressive amount of certainty about someone we have not hired, trained, or even met.

A better starting point is operational. What are the essential functions? What can the candidate do? How does the person learn best? What barrier, if any, is preventing performance? What support is available? What does successful performance look like after onboarding?

These are not special questions. They are the same questions strong employers should ask for every hire. In fact, inclusive hiring can expose weaknesses in a company’s existing systems: vague job descriptions, inconsistent training, undocumented work processes, unclear performance expectations, or supervisors who have not been equipped to coach. Fixing those weaknesses can improve onboarding for the entire workforce.

Accommodation Is Often More Practical Than Employers Expect

The word “accommodation” can sound complex or costly. In practice, support may be as straightforward as written task instructions, a hands-on demonstration, a consistent schedule, additional training time, clearer supervisory communication, a job coach during onboarding, or assistive technology. The right solution depends on the person and the work.

The Job Accommodation Network surveyed employers who contacted JAN between 2019 and 2024. Among respondents who provided cost information for an accommodation they implemented, 61% said the accommodation cost nothing. Another 33% reported a one-time expense with a median cost of $300. So, no, accommodations do not automatically require a blank check and a construction crew. JAN also reported that surveyed employers associated accommodations with benefits such as retaining valuable employees, improving productivity and morale, and reducing workers’ compensation and training costs.^[4]

Those findings do not mean every accommodation will be free or that every placement will succeed. They do challenge the reflexive idea that inclusion is automatically expensive. Often, the more significant obstacle is the absence of an informed employer, a repeatable process, or a supervisor who knows where to turn for help.

Vocational Rehabilitation Connects Talent and Employers

State vocational rehabilitation agencies can help bridge that gap. The federal State Vocational Rehabilitation Services Program supports statewide VR programs that help eligible individuals with disabilities prepare for and engage in competitive integrated employment or supported employment. Services are intended to reflect each person’s strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, interests, and informed choice. State VR agencies also engage with employers to increase job opportunities for people with disabilities.^[5]

For an employer, the value of VR is not just receiving a candidate referral. The broader opportunity is a partnership around job matching, onboarding, accommodations, training, coaching, and retention support. This can be especially useful for smaller contractors or rapidly growing firms.

The goal is not placement for placement’s sake. The goal is a match that works for the employee, the supervisor, the team, the customer, and the business.

One Role, One Site, One Conversation

Employers do not need to launch a large program, form three committees, or develop a logo to begin. A practical pilot can start with four moves:

1. Connect:  Use the Rehabilitation Services Administration’s directory to identify the appropriate state VR agency and ask for the employer or business services contact.^[6]

2. Share:  Explain your hiring needs. Review the role’s essential functions, physical requirements, schedule, work environment, training process, and the characteristics that lead to success.

3. Partner:  Select one role or location. Discuss candidate matching and identify what training, coaching, accommodation, or supervisor support may be available.

4. Build:  Prepare the direct supervisor, define success measures, gather feedback, adjust the process, and expand only what works.

Standards Stay High

Inclusive hiring succeeds when it is managed as a serious workforce strategy. That means avoiding several common traps.

Do not treat employment as charity. People want meaningful work, fair expectations, respect, and an opportunity to contribute, not a participation trophy with a timecard. Do not lower standards. Define them clearly, teach them effectively, and measure them consistently. Do not assume limitations. Discuss the essential functions and evaluate the individual. Do not skip supervisor preparation. A frontline leader can make or break onboarding, and “we told them to figure it out” is not a training strategy. Finally, do not let one imperfect experience become a verdict on an entire talent pool. Every recruiting strategy requires feedback, adjustment, and persistence.

Support is not the opposite of accountability. Good support creates the conditions in which accountability is fair, understandable, and achievable.

Measure the Pilot Like Any Other Operational Initiative

A pilot should have a scorecard. Not because every human interaction needs a dashboard (although some organizations appear committed to proving otherwise) but because good intentions are not a performance measure. Employers can track whether the role was filled, attendance, completion of training milestones, safety performance, quality results, 30, 60, and 90-day retention, supervisor time required, accommodation cost, employee feedback, and customer impact where appropriate. 

Measurement protects the employee from tokenism and protects the employer from vague expectations. It also gives leaders the information needed to improve onboarding, refine job matching, and decide whether to expand the partnership.

A 30-Day Challenge

Within the next 30 days, find your state VR agency, schedule one introductory conversation, identify one role or site to explore, ask what employer supports are available, and decide whether a focused pilot makes sense. This is entirely achievable without a retreat, a consultant, or a 42-slide deck.

Do not begin with a committee or a five-year plan. Begin with a real workforce need and one honest conversation. If the conversation goes well, have another one. Revolutionary, I know.

People with disabilities are not outside the workforce. They are part of it. The next strong employee may not come from the job board an employer has always used. That person may be in a talent pool that has been hidden in plain sight.

References

[1] World Health Organization. “Disability.” WHO Health Topics. Accessed September 11, 2026. https://www.who.int/health-topics/disability

[2] U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. “Introduction to the Americans with Disabilities Act.” ADA.gov. Accessed September 11, 2026. https://www.ada.gov/topics/intro-to-ada/

[3] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “People with a Disability: Labor Force Characteristics — 2025.” USDL-26-0364, March 3, 2026. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/disabl.htm

[4] Job Accommodation Network. “Cost and Benefits of Accommodations: Low Cost, High Impact.” Updated September 17, 2025. https://askjan.org/topics/costs.cfm

[5] Rehabilitation Services Administration. “State Vocational Rehabilitation Services Program.” U.S. Department of Education. Accessed September 11, 2026. https://rsa.ed.gov/about/programs/vocational-rehabilitation-state-grants

[6] Rehabilitation Services Administration. “State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies.” U.S. Department of Education. Accessed September 11, 2026. https://rsa.ed.gov/about/states