Our monthly webinars/phone conferences called, TUESDAY TALKS, are a great way to start your engagement with Disability:IN Pennsylvania and involve others from your organization.  TUESDAY TALKS allow companies from across the state and country to quickly learn about a valuable resource or success story related to the employment of people with disabilities. These monthly phone calls are currently provided at no cost to the attendees and are scheduled on the second Tuesday of every month from 12-1 p.m. EST.

 

During TUESDAY TALKS, businesses are able to have discussions with their peers about topics that address: ideas for accommodations; ways to improve recruitment and/or retention; ideas for becoming a company of choice for employees and customers; strategies for compliance; financial incentives available to businesses; and more!

 

Just email Disability:IN Pennsylvania to receive the full list of upcoming topics scheduled for TUESDAY TALKS this year and receive the connection details.

 

​​Past Topics Below.  Click on Topic Name for Link to Recordings.  Contact Disability:IN Pennsylvania  if you need an alternate format to follow the presentation. Recordings after April 2018 are already captioned.

 

RECORDINGS FROM PAST YEARS ARE ARCHIVED HERE: 2020 , 2019 , 2018 , 2017 , 2016 

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• January 2016- Making Your Website As Accessible as Your Hiring Practices- Your organization strives to be a great place to work for people with disabilities. But what about the first step that many prospective employees take in learning about your company? Is your website effective at communicating with individuals with diminished vision, cognition, and/or dexterity? What about individuals who do not use an assistive technology for web access and might not self-identify as disabled? Sitecues (www.sitecues.com) has added zoom and speech to the websites of leading disability and employment advocacy organizations, including: Disability.jobs; Ask Earn; NOD; NBDC; and Goodwill.jobs. Learn about ways that employers can boost the effectiveness of their disability hiring. Marc Zablatsky, General Manager of Sitecues shared lessons learned from working with corporations and non-profits on hiring, training and individual accommodation. 

 

• February 2016- Intersection of the ADA and FMLA - We dicussed leave as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. We know that the FMLA requires covered employers to provide qualifying employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. But what are an employer’s ADA obligations? Can an employee use FMLA leave to work a part-time schedule? What should an employer do if an employee is not eligible for FMLA leave to meet its ADA obligations? How much leave is reasonable? The presenter was Julie Foster, an attorney at the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia.  She launched a disability employment discrimination project where one project priority is to provide employers with information on the ADA to successfully hire and retain employees with disabilities. More information on the ADA for employers is available at: http://www.pilcop.org/disability-employment-discrimination/employer-information  .

 

• March 2016- How to Use the Web to Reach Prospective Employees with Disabilities - The online world has opened up new opportunities to reach people like never before. Those with disabilities are no exception. In this presentation, Rachel Strella, Owner of Strella Social Media, shared some of the ways people with disabilities are using the web – including social media – and how you can find and connect with prospective employees.

 

• May 2016- Helping Managers Understand Their Role in Accommodations - Deb Russell of Deb Russell Inc. was the presenter.

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• June 2016- DREAM Partnership- The D.R.E.A.M. Partnership is establishing a network of colleges in the state of Pennsylvania that will provide educational opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities through a two-year certificate program. The ultimate goal is to have these programs lead to competitive employment and independent living. So how can employer assist with the development of these programs? How can companies benefit from the efforts of these graduates? Are there similar efforts in other states?  There are various ways employers could get involved in these type of college programs and use them as strategies to build pathways into their workplace or industry for people with disabilities.  Participation could also help to raise greater awareness throughout a company and move federal contractors toward greater compliance.

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• July 12, 2016- ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS OF A JOB- (no recording available) During this session, attendees learned more about essential functions and how to determine which functions are essential in a particular job. The presenter, Julie Foster, is an attorney at the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, a nonprofit civil rights law firm, where she launched a disability employment discrimination project.  An important project priority is to provide employers with information on the ADA to successfully hire and retain employees with disabilities.  More information on the ADA for employers is available at: http://www.pilcop.org/disability-employment-discrimination/employer-information   

 

• August 9, 2016- Is your business/company ready to welcome those with different abilities?- Starbucks has built a learning program, Inclusion Academy, to welcome and train individuals with disabilities.  It has been and is continuing to be an amazing experience for not only the participants but the trainers and partners within Starbucks.  Starbucks wants to share their plan, lessons learned, strategy, challenges, benefits, and curriculum with you.... in hopes that you and your company take the next step to opening your arms to individuals with disabilities in the workforce.  Beth A. Wiley, Plant Learning Specialist, for the Starbucks site in York, PA will be the presenter. Click here to check out some more info about their efforts.

 

• September 13, 2016- PA’s Assistive Technology Lending Library - In this session, Sandra McNally, Program Director of PA’s Initiative on Assistive Technology shared information about Pennsylvania’s Assistive Technology Lending Library (ATLL), a free program available to all Pennsylvanians with disabilities, as well as family members and professionals.  Devices can be borrowed from the ATLL so people can “try before they buy” in order to make a more informed decision about what device will work best for them.  For example, an employee might need an adapted keyboard, video magnifier or adapted telephone in order to complete essential job functions.  Borrowing from the ATLL can help decide which devices will help them at work. People can also borrow from the ATLL when a device is out for repair, for a short-term accommodation (e.g. a meeting), or for professional development. This session included a visit to the Assistive Technology website to show some of the online features as well as how to borrow devices.

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• October 11, 2016- Accommodating People with Low Vision or Hearing Loss- There are many ways that disability can affect one's ability to perform effectively on the job. Levels of disability and ability are unique to an individual. Keeping in mind that most accommodations are simple, there are creative alternatives to traditional ways of doing things. This discussion will discuss scenarios and offer suggestions for accommodating employees with low vision and/or hearing loss.  Our speaker will be Jamie Arasz Prioli , Assistive Technology Specialist and Reused and Exchanged Equipment Partnership Coordinator (REEP) for the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University College of Education .

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• November 8, 2016- Bridging the Military - Employer Culture Gap-  Our presenter, Jean South, shared her perspective and some action steps for businesses to bridge the Military-Corporate culture barrier and become Military Passionate employers which improve their competitive edge in recruiting, hiring and on-boarding top military talent.  Her discussion included ways that smaller companies can compete in the same veteran hiring arena as large-scale companies. Check out Jean’s LinkedIn profile and her company’s website Hired Served / Your Next MOS . 

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• December 13, 2016- Shifting Focus: Changing the Lens On The Business View of Diversity-  Our presenter, Faith Perkins, SPHR, talked about her lessons learned, past successes in hiring people with disabilities, and new understanding of challenges some individuals face in the workplace and life. Faith is currently Vice President of Human Resources and Compliance at  INGLESIDE , a premier, charitable not-for-profit provider of comprehensive senior living services in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.  Take 5 minutes before the TUESDAY TALK to watch this video…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-TyPfYMDK8 .

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