Job seekers with disabilities face extra obstacles in Palm Beach County, U.S.

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. - Even when unemployment sank to historic lows, Angela McPherson couldn't find work.

A four-year job search during Palm Beach County's employment boom yielded nothing - in large part because McPherson is blind, and employers who interviewed her were wary of her disability.

"You're talking about the things you can do, and all they see is what you can't do," McPherson said.

McPherson's search had a happy ending. The Greenacres woman landed a job at the massive Walgreens distribution center west of Jupiter in 2008, and she has worked there since.

But many workers with disabilities face a frustrating, fruitless search for a job. The official unemployment rate for workers with disabilities was 16.8 percent in July, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Advocates say the real unemployment rate is much higher - perhaps 40 percent.

"This is the last great untapped workforce," said Carol Glazer, president of the National Organization on Disability in New York. "This is kind of an invisible minority group. Many employers are simply not aware of people with disabilities."

One frustrated job seeker is Tracy Tebo of West Palm Beach. Since being laid off by Gulfstream Goodwill Industries in June, she has kept busy volunteering at the Palm Beach County library, but she'd prefer a paying job.

Tebo said she suffers from a spinal disorder, a soft tissue disease and chronic fatigue syndrome. Her health problems leave her unable to work a retail job that would require a lot of standing.

"A lot of employers shy away from hiring people with disabilities," Tebo said. "I don't think it's easy for anybody to find a job, but when you have a disability, it narrows your possibilities."

Manes Pacius of Boca Raton sends out the kind of résumé that normally guarantees steady work. He has a bachelor's in accounting and a master's in business administration.

But Pacius suffers from an eye disease that has left him legally blind. Pacius can still work, but he can't drive, and his search for a job has been unsuccessful.

"A lot of employers don't want to be bothered," Pacius said.

Walgreens is a notable exception. The Deerfield, Ill.-based retailer has embarked on a program to hire workers with disabilities at its distribution centers, an effort that has won national attention.

At the Walgreens warehouse west of Jupiter, about 10 percent of the 750 employees have some type of physical or mental disability.

McPherson's guide dog, Pierce, a calm yellow Lab, sits in her cubicle while she handles documents related to forklift safety. McPherson navigates her email with software that reads the text on her computer monitor.

Walgreens expects workers with disabilities to be as productive as everyone else, and they're paid the same, said Glenn Hultberg, who works from the Jupiter warehouse and oversees hiring of workers with disabilities at the 20 Walgreens distribution centers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

"People with disabilities are equally capable of doing the job," Hultberg said.

Walgreens' effort to hire workers with disabilities took on special meaning for Hultberg four years ago. He had worked at Walgreens for six years when he developed a neurological disorder that left him unable to walk or to speak above a whisper.

"People who don't have a disability think people like myself can't work," he said.

With the unemployment rate so high for workers with disabilities, many of their résumés show long periods of unemployment. McPherson, for instance, was 29 when Walgreens hired her. It was her first full-time job.

Transportation poses another challenge. McPherson and several of her co-workers with disabilities said they rely on the Palm Tran Connection service to get to work.

What's more, government benefits for people with disabilities can create an "inherent disincentive" to take low-paying jobs, the National Organization on Disability's Glazer said. A worker accepting a low-wage position can lose monthly disability checks and Medicaid coverage.

Even so, workers with disabilities have proven remarkably good performers, Hultberg said. They're less likely to call in sick, less likely to have on-the-job accidents and less likely to leave for another job once an employer has won their loyalty.

Damian Tater of Palm Beach Gardens, who works in Walgreens' human resources department, said he's grateful that the company was willing to look past his disability.

"I love being here," said Tater, who's blind. "I see myself being here for a long time."