Port Angeles: Disabled workers make good business sense, chamber told

PORT ANGELES — Hiring disabled workers isn’t charity or philanthropy, it’s good business sense, said Erin Riehle, director of disability services at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, on Monday.

Riehle spoke to the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce’s weekly luncheon at the Port Angeles CrabHouse Restaurant, 221 N. Lincoln St.

“We’re not a charity or a philanthropy, we’re a business,” Riehle said.

It’s a matter of matching the business environment to the disabled worker, she said.

A recent telephone survey revealed that 93 percent of the public regards companies who hire disabled workers more favorably than those who don’t, Riehle said.

Nurses, doctors and staff come to work for Cincinnati Children’s Hospital because it hires disabled workers, she said.

Hiring disabled workers also leads to reduced turnover in entry-level and other high-turnover jobs, Riehle said.

Don’t just look for the easiest job to give to a disabled person, said Riehle.

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