Adults with disabilities face real barriers when finding and keeping jobs. Discrimination happens despite laws designed to prevent it, and many workers don't know where to turn for support. Whether you're starting your career or facing workplace challenges, understanding available resources makes a difference. Working with a Paoli estate planning lawyer experienced in special needs planning can protect your long-term financial security while you pursue employment goals.
Pennsylvania offers vocational programs, legal protections, and support services that help individuals with disabilities build successful careers. Knowing what's available and how to access these resources opens doors that might otherwise stay closed.
Disability Employment Support in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) provides the primary gateway to disability employment services. OVR offers vocational counseling, job training, education support, assistive technology, and job placement at no cost to eligible individuals.
The agency serves people who have disabilities that present a substantial impediment to employment and who can benefit from services to prepare for, secure, retain, advance in, or regain employment. You can complete an online pre-application via PA CareerLink or contact a district office directly to begin the process.
Community-based organizations throughout Pennsylvania also provide employment support. These nonprofits offer job coaching, skills training, resume development, and ongoing workplace assistance. Many maintain relationships with local employers who regularly hire their program participants.
Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) help students with disabilities ages 14 to 21 explore careers, gain work experience, develop workplace readiness skills, and practice self-advocacy. Provided to students with disabilities starting at age 14 under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), these programs create pathways from school to employment before graduation.
What Workplace Accommodations Can You Request?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations. Pennsylvania's Human Relations Act extends similar protections to employers with four or more employees.
Reasonable accommodations remove barriers that prevent you from performing essential job functions:
- Modified schedules. Flexible start times accommodate medical appointments or medication schedules affecting energy levels throughout the day.
- Physical modifications. Wheelchair ramps, adjustable desks, or reserved parking remove architectural barriers to accessing your workplace.
- Assistive technology. Screen readers, speech-to-text software, or specialized keyboards help employees with sensory or physical disabilities complete their work effectively.
- Workspace adjustments. Private offices or noise-canceling accommodations benefit individuals with sensory processing disorders or conditions requiring reduced distractions.
Request accommodations typically by speaking with human resources or your supervisor. Employers may request medical documentation, but they cannot ask about unrelated conditions or require more information than necessary. Employers cannot charge you for accommodations or make up the cost of an accommodation by lowering your pay or paying you less than your peers.
Requesting a reasonable accommodation is a protected activity; retaliation for requesting one is unlawful.
Legal Protections for Workers with Disabilities
Federal and state laws prohibit employment discrimination based on disability. The ADA protects qualified individuals with disabilities throughout all employment aspects, from hiring, advancement, compensation, and training, through to termination. Pennsylvania's Human Relations Act provides additional state-level protections.
Before a job offer, employers cannot ask about disability or require medical exams. After a conditional offer, exams may be required if all entering employees in the job category are tested. Once employed, any medical inquiry or exam must be job-related and consistent with business necessity.
Firing someone because of their disability or in retaliation for requesting accommodations violates federal and state law. Workers who experience discrimination should document incidents in detail and file charges promptly.
You generally have 180 days to file with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. In a deferral state like Pennsylvania, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) deadline extends to 300 days for the same incident. Dual filing typically occurs when you file with either agency, but the best practice is to file within 180 days to preserve both state and federal claims.
Protect Your Legal Rights and Secure Vocational Support
Understanding employment rights helps you advocate for fair treatment. While Ruggiero Law Offices focuses on estate and special needs planning rather than employment law, consulting with attorneys who handle employment discrimination can protect your workplace rights.
Employment law attorneys review employment decisions to identify potential discrimination, including denied accommodations, unfair performance evaluations, or wrongful termination. They educate employers about ADA obligations and negotiate workable accommodation solutions.
If informal resolution fails, employment attorneys represent clients through administrative proceedings with the EEOC or the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. When necessary, they file lawsuits seeking remedies including back pay, compensatory damages, reinstatement, and attorney's fees.
How Does Estate Planning Connect to Employment?
Workers receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) often worry that employment will jeopardize benefits. The Ticket to Work program is available to SSDI and SSI beneficiaries ages 18 to 64 and provides employment support services while protecting benefits during the transition to work.
The Trial Work Period allows nine months of work within a rolling 60-month window without loss of benefits, giving you time to test your ability to sustain employment. In 2025, a Trial Work Period month is triggered by $1,160 or more in earnings or more than 80 self-employment hours.
Families working with a Paoli estate planning lawyer often create special needs trusts, preserving eligibility for means-tested benefits while supplementing government assistance with private resources. Special needs trusts can pay employment-related expenses that public benefits don't cover, including professional clothing, transportation costs, assistive technology, and private job coaching.
ABLE accounts provide another savings option for individuals with disabilities. These tax-advantaged accounts let you save up to $19,000 in 2025 and won't affect Medicaid. SSI cash benefits are only suspended if the ABLE balance pushes countable resources over $100,000. Funds can pay for qualified disability expenses, including employment-related costs.
Coordinating employment, benefits, trusts, and ABLE accounts requires thoughtful planning. A Paoli estate planning lawyer experienced in special needs planning helps families structure resources to maximize employment success without jeopardizing benefits.