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BACKGROUND: Employment of people with disabilities continues to be a concern in the field of rehabilitation counseling. Employment rates remain low, resulting in many people with disabilities living at or below the poverty line. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of Hispanic small business owners toward hiring people with disabilities. METHODS: The 38-item Employer Attitudes Questionnaire (EAQ) and the 33-item Small Business Owners Survey (SBOS) were used to investigate attitudes and concerns about hiring issues along with the business owners' general feelings toward the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Survey packets were distributed in the business districts of two selected cities in southern Texas. Two hundred and seventeen participants took part in the study. RESULTS: The findings suggest that there is a range of views about the capabilities of workers from various disability categories as well as differing opinions on the cost of reasonable accommodations. The results of a regression analysis yielded three significant predictors influencing hiring decisions: whether the business owner had a family member or a friend with a disability, the business owner's marital status, and their awareness of the ADA. CONCLUSIONS: There is a continuing need to educate small business owners about disability- and employment-rights legislation; however, cost considerations to provide reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities seem to be significantly more important for small business owners than for large corporations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Increasingly, people diagnosed with cancer are surviving and continuing to participate in the work force. This trend brings with it new issues regarding survivors' employment-related needs. OBJECTIVE: The research team's objective is to explore cancer survivors' employment-related needs and supports with the ultimate goal of developing a training intervention for them. METHODS: Data were collected via an online survey. This article reports on the findings from the pilot stage of the study, which included 32 respondents. RESULTS: Many cancer survivors experience cancer symptoms at work, but do not tend to seek reasonable accommodations. Levels of awareness of possible programmatic and legal supports are low. Respondents reported that neither employers nor medical practitioners are primary sources of information regarding their individual employment-related concerns. Instead, they relied on general information from cancer advocacy organizations. CONCLUSIONS: Survivors, employers, and practitioners who treat cancer patients could benefit from training resources about how survivors might address their employment-related needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]