From Winnepeg Free Press: (click for full article)
Hiring people with disabilities often doesn't require adding accommodation measures and can boost the bottom line of a business, says a Toronto disability advocate and Tim Hortons franchise owner.
Mark Wafer, president of Megleen Inc., which operates as a Tim Hortons, was appointed Monday to a federal panel looking to get more people with disabilities into the workforce.
Wafer has hired 82 people with disabilities over the last 17 years, including 33 out of his current workforce of 210 spread over his six locations.
One of the biggest misconceptions about hiring people with disabilities is that a workplace will need to be revamped with accommodation measures, said Wafer, who has limited hearing.
"Most companies do not have to make any accommodation in order to fit somebody in," said Wafer, who added that if a company is making a very expensive accommodation, "they probably got somebody who is the wrong fit for the position."
It all started when Wafer hired a young man named Clint Sparling 17 years ago.
Sparling, who has Down syndrome, was in his last year of high school when a teacher saw a posting in the window and recommended that Wafer hire the young man.
"I didn't have a lot of experience being around people with intellectual disabilities at the time, but I decided to go ahead and hire Clint," Wafer said.
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