Job Accommodation Network (JAN)

Established in 1983 as a service of the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is an information network and consulting resource to enable qualified workers with disabilities to be hired or retained. Businesses can discuss their concerns and information needs with JAN’s Human Factors Consultants and receive immediate suggestions on solutions to accommodation problems.

JAN offers comprehensive information on methods and available equipment that have proven effective for a wide range of accommodations. Included will be names, addresses and phone numbers of appropriate resources. You can make personal contacts for additional insights. Information can be provided by phone or mail, and is available at no cost to the caller.

Additional information about the Job Accommodation Network can be found on their website.

Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)

The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a tax credit for employers who hire targeted low-income groups, including workers with disabilities. The WOTC replaced the Targeted Jobs Tax Credit (TJTC), which was often used by job developers, on October 1, 1996. The credit was incorporated into a part of the law that increased minimum wage.

The WOTC provides a tax credit of up to 40% of the first $6,000 in wages paid during the first 12 months for each new qualified hire. The WOTC must be reauthorized by the US Congress annually.

Qualifications:

• Employees must have been or be hired when WOTC is in effect
• Eligible persons include: individuals with disabilities referred or participating in rehabilitation services provided by state vocational rehabilitation agencies, qualified recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children, veterans, food stamp recipients, summer youth employees, and ex-felons
• Applicants with disabilities must apply for the WOTC through their local Job Service office (state employment security agency)

Applicants must provide:

• Proof of vocational rehabilitation eligibility
• Photo identification
• Employees must work a minimum 180 days or 400 hours (Youth working summer jobs must work 20 days or 120 hours)

Paperwork:
Prior to any job offer (preferably the day of the interview), the applicant must have completed IRS Form 8850, the Work Opportunity Credit Pre-Screening Notice and Certification Request and return it to the job service agency. The applicant provides the finished form to the employer, who submits it to the address on the form no later than 21 days after the hiring date of the employee. The job service agency notifies the employer in writing of final eligibility for filing the tax credit with the IRS.

Additional information about the Work Opportunity Tax Credit can be found on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment & Training Administration website.

Disabled Access Tax Credit

An eligible small business that pays or incurs expenses after November 5, 1990, for providing access to persons with disabilities, is allowed a nonrefundable tax credit. The maximum amount of credit is $5,000 per year.

Eligible small businesses:
An eligible business is one that, for the preceding year, did not have more than 30 fulltime employees or did not have more than $1 million in gross receipts in the preceding tax year. An employee is considered fulltime if employed at least 30 hours per week for 20 or more calendar weeks during the preceding year.

Eligible access expenses:
Eligible expenses are those that enabled a business to comply with applicable requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. These include amounts paid or incurred to:

• Remove architectural, communication, physical, or transportation barriers that prevent a business from being accessible to, or usable by, individuals with disabilities
• Provide interpreters or other effective methods of delivering materials to individuals with hearing impairments
• Provide readers, taped texts, and other effective methods of delivering materials to individuals with visual impairments
• Acquire or modify equipment or devices for individuals with disabilities
• Provide other similar services, modifications, materials, or equipment

Only expenses that are reasonable and necessary for facilities presently placed in service qualify. There is no cap on the number of disabled employees that an employer may hire within one year but they must have been employed after 11/5/90, and the dollar credit cap is still $5,000 per year.

Amount of credit:
The credit is 50 percent of eligible access expenses for the year that are more than $250 but not more than $10,250. Maximum credit in any one year is $5,000. Credit cannot exceed tax liability for the year.

Additional information about the Disabled Access Tax Credit can be found on the IRS website.