- Kat Schon and Penney Stephenson, Portland Store Fixtures

(Read full article below.)

* Portland Store Fixtures – Making the Preferred Worker Program a Part of Their Success Story

* Preferred Workers Program: Oregon’s Best-Kept Secret!

* New Census Report: 18% Of Americans Report That They Have A Disability

“Tags, bags and automobiles. Okay, maybe not automobiles... Slatwall and accessories, grid and accessories, showcases, cash counters, card racks, gondola shelving, credit card machines, glass cubes, pallet racking, wire products, jewelry displays, clothing racks, hangers... well, you get the idea. Call us, we'll get you what you need, fast.” That line, pulled from the website of Portland Store Fixtures is a good indication of the fun and enthusiasm that co-owners Kat Schon and Penney Stephenson put into their work.

From meager beginnings eight years ago (“Just Penney and I on a shoestring” says Kat.), these Portland-based entrepreneurs have now outfitted the storefronts of over 500 new retail businesses. With an enthusiastic staff of eight and 27,000 square feet of warehouse, they continue to meet the unique display needs of the city’s retailers.

The OBLN learned that Portland Store Fixtures had recently made use of the Preferred Worker Program so we contacted Kat and Penney to find out more. In speaking with them, we learned that one of their employees, Joan Hobson, had already been employed when she learned about the Preferred Worker Program and the benefits that she and her employers could take advantage of. “We hired Joan about a year ago. It was almost a year later, that we learned about the Preferred Worker Program from Connie Foster,” explained Kat.

On a previous job, Joan had incurred a shoulder injury that limited her range of motion and ability to lift heavier items. Penney and Kat knew of Joan’s disability when they hired her but they were readily-prepared to work around it, “because…” they explain, “she is great!”

Working from the records from the Workers Compensation Division, Connie Foster of the Oregon Department of Rehabilitation Services made contact with Joan. She discovered that Joan was working at Portland Store Fixtures; “Joan had secured a job on her own but she had never tapped in to her Preferred Worker benefits. In talking with her, I realized that there were some accommodations that needed to be made – accommodations that could be put in place through the Preferred Worker Program. Neither Joan nor her employer understood the Preferred Worker Program and that these kinds of benefits were available to her.”

Apparently while she could perform all of her job functions, Joan was doing so by putting additional strain on her “good” arm – setting her up for possible future injuries. Along came Connie: “Because of her disability, Joan can’t lift anything heavier than about eight to ten pounds with her injured arm. She was doing several tasks with only her other arm – putting ongoing strain on it. We were able to do things like put in an overhead door opener that allowed her to do the same tasks – without the worry of future injury. That is an important feature of the Preferred Worker Program – that worksite modifications are also made to prevent any future injury.” Kat and Penney were pleased with what the Preferred Worker Program delivered; “Through the Preferred Worker Program, we were able to get some equipment that makes Joan’s job a lot easier for her - a cart for more efficiently moving items around the store, a vacuum cleaner that is easier to use, and an automated overhead door.”

Joan also had only good things to say about her involvement with the Program; “Connie was very congenial and clear on what the benefits would be both for me and for my employer. Everything was handled very smoothly and pleasantly. Kat and Penney readily accepted the three major accommodations that Connie and I had discussed.”

From all reports, the Preferred Worker Program was of benefit to everyone involved. Apparently, unlike many other government programs, the Preferred Worker Program has also been designed to be employer-friendly. When I asked Penney about the administrative burden and/or paperwork involved, she replied; “It was easy to participate in the program without interrupting the flow of business for either the employer or the employee. It was not irritating or hard to do in any way.”

In closing, Kat offered her personal observation that: “The word ‘disabled’ is used too often. Just because you have limitations doesn’t mean that you are disabled.”

Based on their experience, Penney and Kat said that they wouldn’t hesitate at all to recommend the program to other employers. For themselves, they have learned that the Preferred Worker program can also be a source of pre-screened applicants for their job openings. They welcome this as “another nice avenue from which to recruit able workers.”

According to Connie Foster; “The Preferred Worker Program is one of Oregon’s best-kept secrets!” Connie is a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor with the East Portland office of the Oregon Department of Rehabilitation Services. She is part of a special Workers Compensation pilot project. Connie is truly excited about this project and, when contacted by the OBLN, she was very willing to be interviewed for this article.

OBLN: Connie, can you please give us an overview of the pilot program that you are working on?

CONNIE FOSTER: The Workers Compensation Division noticed that there were about 800 people in the Portland metro area who had not accessed their preferred worker benefits – and they didn’t know why. Upon further study, they determined that some of these workers had entered the program at a time when limited services had been available to them. These people had simply been given a preferred worker card, some help with their resume, and encouraged to go find themselves another job.

Since then, Workers Compensation has realized that many of these people need one on one support to help them in their job search. Rules and regulations have now been passed so that vocational rehabilitation services can step in and provide that support.

Dennis Lambie, in our North Portland office, and I are contacting these individuals (who have not used their Preferred Worker benefits) to see if they need help and assistance in finding employment.

OBLN: What kinds of assistance do you and Dennis provide?

CONNIE FOSTER: We meet with them, evaluate their needs, identify any employment barriers, help them to get out and find a job, and assist with modifying the new workplace to fit their special needs. Essentially, we are giving people that one-on-one help that they need to go out and find a job.

These workers are what we call “medically stationary”. They are not going to get any better and they are not going to get any worse. We have identified what their limitations are and when we assist them with finding employment, we make sure that we stay within the restrictions that the doctor has established. Sometimes a simple accommodation will achieve this. For example, if there is someone who has a lifting restriction of only up to 50 pounds and the job requires occasional lifting of 75 to 80 pounds, we can provide them with lifting devices that will help them carry out those tasks.

OBLN: What are the basic benefits that the Preferred Worker Program can bring to the employer and their employee with a disability?

CONNIE FOSTER: There are four basic benefits:

• Oftentimes, accommodations that are related to the disability of the employee and need to be made to meet the employer obligations of the Americans with Disabilities Act can be paid for by the Preferred Worker Program.

• Employers who hire a Preferred Worker are entitled to a three-year exemption on Workers Compensation premiums for that employee.

• To help offset the costs of training a new employee, employers who hire preferred workers are eligible for a 50% wage reimbursement on the base wages for 6 months.

• If they are required by the employer, the Preferred Worker Program will also pay up to one thousand dollars towards the costs of licenses or accreditations for an employee – expenses like tuition, books, etc.

(Note: See the link at the end of this article for complete details about these benefits.)

OBLN: We understand that these benefits are available to the employers of Preferred Workers in your pilot program. Are they available to employers in other parts of the state?

Our pilot program is only operating in the Portland area but, if it is successful, we expect that it will be offered throughout the state. Employers anywhere in Oregon, however, can hire Preferred Workers and be eligible for these same benefits. They can list their job openings for free at www.oregonpwp.info and follow the “Job Match” link. Of course, in the Portland area itself, employers can contact Dennis or me directly and we can do prescreening for them as well.

According to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau on May 12, about 51.2 million Americans say they have a disability, and 32.5 million of them have a severe disability. These findings were based on data drawn from the 2002 census.

Of those in the 25 – 64 age group, 22 percent of people with a severe disability were college graduates – as were 32 percent of those with non-severe disabilities. (This compares to 43% in the non-disabled population.)

Median earnings for people with no disability were $25,000, compared with $22,000 for people with a non-severe disability and $12,800 for those with a severe disability.

Now ON SALE in our store!!

Flying in the face of all-too-common misinformation and attitudinal barriers that prevent people with disabilities from fair opportunities in the job market, this little video is a refreshing and convincing portrait of many real individuals, with a wide range of disabilities, who are productive and enthusiastic participants in the workforce. It presents a fast-paced series of portraits and interviews with dozens of people with disabilities who describe how they found their paths to successful careers, how they have worked with their employers to meet any accommodation needs, and why they love their jobs. This video accomplishes an amazing amount in 9 minutes. Its compact length makes it ideal for HR Managers who only have a limited time to capture the attention of hiring managers, recruiters or other key employees in their company.