Calvin Yates' vision has never been very good.
Born with albinism, Yates, a senior server administrator for the U.S. Army Signal Network Enterprise Center at Fort Jackson, has had vision problems his entire life. People with albinism not only lack pigmentation in their eyes, but the genetic disorder can also have a negative impact on the eye's structure.
"I'm legally blind, but I've never known anything different," he said. Cataract surgery helped stem his deteriorating vision, he said, but there's no permanent remedy for the problem. For him, low vision is merely a fact of life.
The government's policies for hiring persons with disabilities have evolved over the years. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 offers the same protection against discrimination to people with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on gender, religion, race and other attributes. When Yates was first hired by the government in the early 1980s, things were a little different, though.
"I was supposed to be hired under (a special provision) where the government could hire the handicapped for 700 hours," he said. The concept was to see if the new hires were capable of doing the job. If so, they were hired on a full time basis. If not, they were dismissed.
Today, the Department of the Army has a goal of staffing 2 percent of its workforce with the disabled, said Timothy Gladders, disability program manager for the post's Equal Employment Opportunity Office.
"That's actually a pretty big number," he said, and one that's more difficult to reach than might appear. People with disabilities get preferential hiring treatment, and can be pushed to the front of the line when qualified for a position. But, he said, the Army not only has to get people to apply for jobs, but get them to identify as disabled, as well. Not everyone is willing to do that.
"You can't make an employee self identify," he said. "Employees can be reluctant to identify that they have a disability because there is a stigma attached. They may assume that, if they self identify, it could hurt them in the long run. The reality is just the opposite. There are a lot of benefits in the federal government for individuals with disabilities. And the hiring preference is a huge one."
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, which is also the time of year when the federally mandated Disability Veterans Affirmative Action Plan is conducted on Fort Jackson.
"What this plan does is identify barriers that may be in the work force in hiring not only veterans, but anyone with a disability," Gladders said. "We look at that plan and ask what potential barriers may be in place at Fort Jackson that's hindering us from hiring employees with a disability."
The results of the plan are submitted to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Fort Jackson is in an unusual position, Gladders said, in that veterans already receive preferential hiring treatment for government jobs. If they also happen to be disabled, it's up to them which hiring preference they want to use.
"We have a percentage of employees here on Fort Jackson who are targeted disability employees," Gladders said. "Most are individuals who claim some sort of disability. Keep in mind that there's no list of approved disabilities. I have carpel tunnel syndrome. If I claim that as a disability and have medical documentation to validate that, then it's a disability."
That doesn't mean someone with a disability is automatically hired.
"If you're qualified to do the job that's announced, you might not have to compete for it," he said, "if you meet the guidelines."
Government offices are also required to provide "reasonable accommodations" to disabled employees. What qualifies as "reasonable," he said, is usually determined on a case-by-case basis.
"It's an interactive process between the employee and the supervisor to accommodate the employee," he said. "One of the reasons to deny someone an accommodation is that it would cause the agency undue hardship. That means the agency doesn't have enough money or resources to accommodate the employee."
For Yates, his working accommodations at Fort Jackson have taken an informal, casual form. Technology has evolved to help Yates overcome some of his visual obstacles in the workplace.
"Windows has adapted to where you can set the fonts for almost anything at the size you need," he said. "I don't use any adaptive software, but the Army has a way to get it. I've just never needed it."
The other issues that come along with his vision impairment are, generally, eased by coworkers.
"I can't drive because of my vision," he said. "But, due to the supportive nature of the people I work with, I get along just fine. My friends here at work help me get to my doctor's appointments, and I have to catch rides to and from work every day. It's never been a problem because I work with great people. The command structure knows this and works with me. They've been fabulous."
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