WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) spoke on Tuesday at a U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing about lessons learned from COVID-19 when it comes to maximizing inclusive practices and overcoming barriers to employment for people with disabilities. Murphy highlighted the $2 billion in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for improving transportation accessibility for people with disabilities.

“Though Connecticut has the reputation as being just one big suburb of the New York, we actually have plenty of rural communities, in which transportation is a real barrier. One study suggested that 20% of all transit stations in the United States are not in compliance with the A.D.A. That's really stunning having had the A.D.A. on the books for as long as we had,” Murphy said.

“What do we need do better when it comes to accessibility of transportation, knowing that the bipartisan infrastructure bill actually had a dedicated amount of funds, 2 billion dollars—not a small amount of funding—for this very question, making transportation more accessible to individuals with disabilities?” Murphy asked Brian Dennis, a workforce program coordinator for the Iowa Workforce Development’s Disability Services.

Murphy also asked Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft, about how employers can improve transportation accessibility: “Are there things that employers can do to try to make sure that their employees have, individuals with disabilities who work for them, have access to transportation options?”

You can read Murphy’s full exchange with Dennis and Lay-Flurrie below:

MURPHY: “Thank you very much, Madam Chair, Ranking Member. Thanks to our great panelists. I have been listening to this hearing from my office, and I'm glad to be here just to raise one additional topic for discussion here. I appreciate both of Senator Marshall’s questions. I think it's right that we have to understand people with disabilities have increased exposure to pandemic disease, often immunocompromised, co-morbidities. We also have to understand that if you look at the percentage of people with disabilities in the workforce that are working retail jobs, manufacturing jobs, jobs that are sort of on the front lines, it's higher than the nondisabled population. And so they were in some ways at greater risk at the beginning of the pandemic.

“The issue I wanted to raise was about accessibility of transportation for people with disabilities. This is obviously a critical issue no matter where you live. But again Senator Marshall raised this specific question of what it means to live with a disability in a rural community. And though Connecticut has the reputation as being just one big suburb of the New York, we actually have plenty of rural communities, in which transportation is a real barrier. 

“One study suggested that 20% of all transit stations in the United States are not in compliance with the A.D.A. That's really stunning having had the A.D.A. on the books for as long as we had. So, I’d be happy to have anybody answer this question, but maybe I'll direct it to Mr. Dennis since you're working in the a state with big rural communities. 

“What do we need do better when it comes to accessibility of transportation, knowing that the bipartisan infrastructure bill actually had a dedicated amount of funds 2 billion dollars—not a small amount of funding—for this very question, making transportation more accessible to individuals with disabilities. So maybe I ask it to Mr. Dennis, Dr. Schur, whoever wants to answer. What do we need to do better when it comes to getting people with disabilities onto our transit systems and into transit options?"
DENNIS: “Again, thank you for your question. So first off obviously, persons who experience disabilities, transportation is a huge barrier, whether you live in an urban or a rural community. Speaking to specifics about our rural communities again, is making sure they understand they have that high customer utilization base that are persons with disabilities.

“And number one, you need to always fall in line with the law, but also helping them understand not only the requirements of accessibility but the implicit, unintentional probably biases when it comes to that. 

“I live in a local area where while I drive a vehicle I use public thorough ways to get around, and I notice that often times our buses may not have things such as lifts to make help individuals get onto the vehicles, time-lines when it comes to routes where a person or individuals live so they are even accessible, drivers understanding how to utilize the equipment, and honestly having spaces for our buses to offload and upload passengers who use that assistance is a continued barrier.

“So it is education and also holding people accountable to the law. And one of the great necessary in our local transit authority that I think needs to be replicated is they do have a riders advisory group. It is comprised entirely person with a disability. Again, continue to give that guidance from the user side of what they need to do better as a public transit authority."
MURPHY: “Maybe direct the question, I’d actually love to you hear from you Miss Lay-Flurry, just as an employer, what do you think about in terms of making sure individual with disabilities have access to your place of employment? Are there things that employers can do to try to make sure that their employees have, individuals with disabilities who work for them, have access to transportation options?”
LAY-FLURRIE: “I think it's an incredibly important point, and I think a lot of issues on accessible transport, which I don’t claim to be an expert on, but those issues are very well documented. Particularly when it comes to aircraft and transportation. I just flew from Washington State over the weekend, the number of wheel-chairs that are embedded and damaged in that is one incident.

“We do of course look at transport for our candidates. We have a 7.1% our employee base have disabilities. Transport to and from the office is clearly a consideration, and one of the benefits of the pandemic has been the ability and the immediate switch to work from home of many of those. And some of those will remain working from home. The joy of digital technology of course allowing them to have full work access and no change in that in terms of career growth and everything else that comes with it. So I think it's an area that needs lot more investigation, and it is of course something that we as employers look at.”

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