VCU holds third annual business roundtable on disabled workers

By BeeGee Brem
University News Service

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Commonwealth University’s Rehabilitation Research and Training Center will hold its third annual VCU Business Roundtable from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. on June 14 at SunTrust Bank, 1001 Semmes Ave.

At the roundtable meeting, VCU researchers will present preliminary results from their national study of the attendance and safety records of disabled workers. Other topics will include the impact of new legislation on employment training in Richmond and ergonomics training.

"The strong economy and tight labor market have prompted many companies - some for the first time - to look at disabled individuals as potential employees," said Paul H. Wehman, Ph.D., director of RRTC and chair of rehabilitation research for the VCU Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. "The VCU Business Roundtable helps employers explore that possibility."

The VCU Business Roundtable, chaired by Virginia Lieutenant Governor John Hager, is a forum of more than 35 local and national companies, including Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield, Marriott Corp., IBM, Borders Books and Virginia Power. The forum identifies and addresses factors that inhibit industries from employing disabled workers.

The roundtable discussion is part of a five-year, $3.5 million contract from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. The grant supports RRTC’s collaboration with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other national business organizations, as well as VCU’s schools of Education, Business, Allied Health and Medicine.