Dead end jobs or a path to economic well being? The consequences of non-standard work among people with disabilities.

Abstract

How do non-standard jobs affect the economic well-being of workers with disabilities, and what happens when non-standard workers use disability lawsuits to challenge discrimination and improve their economic opportunities? This study uses data from the Current Population Survey, the Survey of Income and Program Participation, and a Lexis search of legal cases to help answer these questions. Temporary employment, independent contracting, and part-time employment are almost twice as likely among workers with disabilities as among those without disabilities. Non-standard workers with disabilities receive lower pay and fewer benefits due both to the types of job they hold, and disability gaps within job types, which contribute to their high poverty rates. They would continue to have high poverty rates even if these pay gaps were eliminated, however, because they work fewer hours than non-standard workers without disabilities and are concentrated in lower-paying occupations. In attempting to improve their opportunities through disability lawsuits, non-standard workers prevail in only a small minority of cases. Several policy implications of the lawsuits and survey data are discussed.