Challenge Your Assumptions About Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Workers

Sometimes, uncomfortable questions can be enlightening. Jay Burkey, SHRM-CP, vice president of human resources at CareerSource Hillsborough Pinellas in Dunedin, Fla., who is deaf, challenged attendees at SHRM25 to reconsider their views of deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals.

“When you meet a deaf person, what assumptions do you have?” Burkey asked at a SHRM25 session in San Diego.

One attendee said they’d expect the person to be honest and direct, because that’s common in Deaf culture. 

“That’s a great point,” Burkey said, “speaking from my own experience. I don’t speak for the Deaf community.”

Another attendee said they’d assume the person might struggle to have a conversation with “people like me.”

“What if they don’t sign, what do you assume?” Burkey asked.

If someone doesn’t sign and instead speaks aloud, people might think the person isn’t deaf, a conference attendee said. The last two assumptions may be incorrect. For Burkey, deafness came after learning how to talk.

“There are a lot of strange assumptions,” Burkey said, such as, after learning someone is deaf, others asking, “Can you drive?” or “Can you work?”

Other common misconceptions are about a deaf person’s education, Burkey noted. Burkey challenged attendees not to use terms that might offend, including “hearing impaired.” Call someone deaf or hard of hearing instead, Burkey recommended.

Forcing someone who is deaf to use their voice risks exhausting them, Burkey added. “I can’t hear while I speak” and it’s consequently tiring to speak, he explained.

Communication Tips

When communicating with someone who is deaf or hard of hearing, ask the person about their communication preferences, then try to communicate using their preferred method, said Julie DeLuca, SHRM-SCP, recruitment manager for Screen Actors Guild — American Federation of Television and Radio Artists in Clearwater, Fla.

Those methods might include:

• Pen and paper.

• Instant messaging.

• Speech-to-text apps. 

• Sign language.

• Text messages.

• Emails.

• Speech reading.

Meeting and Interpreter Etiquette

DeLuca also provided meeting etiquette tips, including:

• Provide an agenda.

• Have a note taker.

• If using an interpreter, give the interpreter time to catch up.

• Always say who is speaking.

• Only one person should talk at a time.

• Don’t schedule unnecessary meetings.

• Keep meetings as short as possible.

Interpreter etiquette includes:

• Speaking directly to the deaf or hard of hearing person, not the interpreter.

• Allowing the interpreter and deaf client to decide the best place to sit or stand in the room.

• Using the interpreter to engage the deaf person.

• Not asking the interpreter for their own opinions or to explain what the deaf person means.

EEOC Guidance

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidance issued Jan. 24, 2023, explained what types of reasonable accommodations applicants or employees with hearing disabilities may need. 

Some examples the EEOC gave of reasonable accommodations for employees with hearing disabilities, other than sign language interpreters, are:

• Assistive technology.

• Assistive listening devices.

• Note-taking assistance for those using Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) services or sign language interpretation.

• Work area adjustments (for example, a desk away from a noisy area or near an emergency alarm with strobe lighting).

• Time off in the form of accrued paid leave or unpaid leave if paid leave has been exhausted or is unavailable.

• Adjustments to an employee’s nonessential job functions.

• Reassignment to a vacant position.

In addition, live captioning through artificial intelligence may offer reasonable accommodation options for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Burkey said that with real-time AI interpreters, “some of the software is OK.” But Burkey added that it’s not perfect and declined to recommend any particular software. “Try it out and see how it is.” 

Takeaways for HR Professionals

In summary, DeLuca encouraged HR:

• Not to make assumptions.

• Not to share medical information.

• Not to be unwilling to accommodate.

She added that HR should:

• Ask deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals what a good accommodation might be.
• Use the individuals’ communication preferences.
• Be flexible and open about accommodations.

It can be a challenge for hearing people to consider what it would be like if everything is visual, she said.

Other takeaways include cultural sensitivity, collaboration, and feedback and continuous improvement, DeLuca said.