The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandates that a comprehensive variety of public and private services as well as employers must be accessible to all people, regardless of disability. For employees who are Deaf or hard of hearing, employers are required to provide sign language interpreters for their effective communication.
Sign language interpreters are necessary in any situation in which the information to be exchanged requires clear and effective communication. Though deaf employees do not need interpreters for day-to-day work, interpreters are used in the following settings:
- Job interviews
- Job orientation
- Staff meetings
- Trainings and workshops
- Business conferences
- A disciplinary meeting with a supervisor
Hiring sign language interpreter costs money but has the below benefits:
Effective Communication
Communication is the key to all successful businesses and personal relationships. Communication errors can be costly, at times even disastrous. Whenever important content is being communicated, having an interpreter present will safeguard the participants by ensuring that information is accessible to both parties.
Remember to use the services of a qualified interpreter. A qualified interpreter is one who is able to interpret effectively, accurately, and impartially. Sometimes, for Conferences, business meeting and trainings Team Interpreting might be required. Team interpreting uses the services of two or more sign language interpreters who support each other to meet the needs of a particular communication situation.
Tax Benefits
Businesses that provide qualified interpreters or other methods of making audio materials available to deaf individuals are eligible for a tax deduction.
The IRS Disabled Access Credit provides a non-refundable credit for small businesses that incur expenses for the purpose of providing access to persons with disabilities. An eligible small business is one that that earned $1 million or less or had no more than 30 full time employees in the previous year; they may take the credit each and every year they incur access expenditures.
Customer Loyalty
People with hearing disabilities are a closely-knit group. If your business provides effective communication solutions, they are certain to let each other know.
Since the passage of the Americans with Disability Act in 1991, the economy power of the disabled community, especially the deaf and hard and hard of hearing population, has increased dramatically. There are over 175 billion dollars in discretionary spending power in the disabled community.
You can tap into this revenue that deaf and hard of hearing population by providing an effective communication solution – a sign language interpreter.
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