What Is the Disability Tax? The Hidden Cost of Inaccessible Hiring
Before I ever talk to a recruiter, I've often spent far longer than other candidates just getting through the online application. Nobody sends me a bill for that time. But I pay it, and so do millions of other people with disabilities.
That hidden cost has a name: the disability tax. It's the extra time, energy, and money disabled people spend to do the same things everyone else does. Fill out the same form. Get the same job. Keep the same job.
I want to talk about the cost of getting in, and what employers can do to lower it. I'll focus on three parts of the tax: time, energy, and career.
If you're an employer, I hope this helps you see your hiring process the way a disabled candidate does. If you're a person with a disability, I hope it confirms something you already know. The extra work you do is real. You're not imagining it.
The time tax: job application forms that don't announce their fields
I'm blind, and I use a screen reader to do my job. A screen reader turns what's on the screen into speech. When I fill out a form, I move from field to field with the Tab key, and my screen reader tells me what each field is for.
At least, that's how it's supposed to work.
Here's what a well-built form sounds like. I press Tab, and I hear “First name, edit.” I type my first name. I press Tab again and hear “Last name, edit.” I type my last name. I move straight through the form without stopping, the same way a sighted person scans down the page.
That only works when each label is connected to its field in the code. A lot of job applications skip that step. The words “First name” are on the screen, and the box is right next to them, but nothing in the code ties the two together.
When that happens, I press Tab and hear only “Edit.” Edit what? First name? Phone number? Social Security number? I have no way to know from that field alone.
So I have to stop. I leave forms mode, which is the mode my screen reader uses for typing into fields. I read around the field to find the label. Then I go back into the field, switch back into forms mode, and type. I repeat that for every field on the page.
Now picture an application with 40 fields. Then picture filling out 20 applications in a week. The extra time adds up fast, and it comes before anyone has looked at my résumé.
This is the part that frustrates me most. The fix is small. Connecting a label to a field is one of the most basic accessibility practices on the web, and it's part of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the international standard for accessible digital content. A developer can often correct it in minutes. Until someone does, every blind applicant pays for it in time.
The energy tax: always explaining, always asking
Time is only part of it. The other part is the energy it takes to keep asking for what you need.
When an application doesn't work with my screen reader, I have choices, and none of them are free. I can push through and hope I filled in the right fields. I can email the recruiter, explain what a screen reader is, and ask for another way to apply. Or I can give up and move on to the next job posting.
If I reach out, I'm making a decision about disclosure before I've even had a phone screen. I'm wondering if the person reading my email will see a qualified candidate or a problem.
The asking doesn't stop once you're hired. Many disabled employees spend real energy on the accommodation process itself:
Figuring out who to ask and how
Explaining their disability, sometimes more than once, to more than one person
Following up when a request sits without an answer
Teaching coworkers and managers how their assistive technology works
Asking again when new software arrives and doesn't work with what they use
Each of those tasks seems small on its own. Together, they're a second job that nobody lists in the job description.
If you're a person with a disability and you finish your workday more tired than your coworkers, this may be part of why. That isn't weakness, and it isn't in your head. You're doing extra work that others don't have to do.
The career tax: what it costs over time
The time and energy taxes don't stay small. Over months and years, they can shape a person's career.
It can start before someone is even hired. When an application doesn't work, some qualified people simply stop. They may never make it into the applicant pool, even though they had the skills and experience for the job.
For people who do get hired, the cost can keep building:
Slower advancement. Energy spent on workarounds is energy not spent on projects that get noticed.
Missed opportunities. Training platforms, internal job boards, and promotion applications can have the same broken forms as the original application.
Being overlooked. A manager who doesn't understand an accommodation may read the delay as a performance problem.
Being let go. When the tools don't work and the support doesn't come, good employees can end up out the door for reasons that had nothing to do with their skills.
Over time, those individual barriers can affect which jobs people can pursue, which opportunities they can take, and how far they can advance. That's the career tax.
Six ways employers can lower the disability tax
You don't need a huge budget to start. Here are six things you can do this month.
Test your application with a screen reader. Better yet, pay someone who uses one every day to test it. Try to complete the whole application using only the keyboard. If you get stuck, so will your candidates. We can help.
Make sure every form field has a connected label. Ask your developers or your applicant tracking system vendor to confirm it. If a vendor can't answer that question, that tells you something too.
Put your accommodation process where people can find it. List it on your careers page and in the job posting. Tell candidates who to contact, how to reach them, and what happens next.
Respond to accommodation requests quickly. A request that sits for weeks costs the candidate or employee time, energy, and sometimes the job. Set a response timeline and stick to it.
Ask only for what you need. Many accommodations can be handled with a simple conversation. Don't ask for more documentation than the request actually requires.
Train your hiring managers. Every person who interviews or supervises should know how the accommodation process works and who to call. The disabled employee shouldn't be the one teaching them. Learn more about disability inclusion training options.
If you want guidance on specific accommodations, the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is a great place to start. It's a free service funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, and its consultants can talk through accommodation ideas for a specific job and a specific disability. You don't have to figure this out alone.
Can people with disabilities actually apply for your jobs?
To my fellow job seekers and employees with disabilities: the cost you feel is real. The extra minutes on every form, the emails you write to explain yourself, the energy it takes to ask again. None of that is imagined, and none of it means you're less capable. It means the system wasn't built with you in mind yet.
To employers: I'd ask you to look at your own front door. Your careers page and application are the first thing a disabled candidate experiences with your company. If those don't work, nothing else you say about inclusion will reach them.
Here's the simplest place to start. Contact Disability Solutions, and we'll review your job application process from a screen reader user's perspective. You'll get a grade for how accessible your process is today, plus a list of quick actions that show you exactly what needs fixing. It's the fastest way to find out whether people with disabilities can actually apply for your jobs.
Is your hiring process creating unnecessary barriers?
Disability Solutions can help you identify accessibility gaps across the candidate experience and build a hiring process that gives people with disabilities a fair opportunity to apply, compete, and succeed.
