Hiring: Enabling the Disabled
A Ruby Tuesday manager explains why developmentally disabled workers are welcome in his restaurant.
By David Farkas, Senior Editor -- Chain Leader, 4/1/2009
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| Tanya Byrd, who is developmentally disabled, stocks the salad bar and washes dishes at Ruby Tuesday. "She's a reliable and dedicated worker," says General Manager Mark Briccetti. |
"Same as any other employee," he says. "She followed another person for a certain number of shifts until she felt she got it." Byrd, who is developmentally disabled, was hired nine years ago at the Chesapeake, Va., unit. Currently a dishwasher, she has worked in several positions during her tenure.
"Tanya takes a bus to work and uses her paycheck to pay for rent, food and clothing. She loves to go to work," says Terri Arnold, director of public relations for Chesapeake Service Systems, the vocational rehabilitation agency in Chesapeake, Va., where Byrd received training.
Briccetti, who has hired other developmentally disabled workers, says employees such as Byrd are welcome in his restaurant. "They are dependable and grateful to have a job, and they usually do their best," he adds.
Asked what advice he'd give to restaurant managers who wanted to hire the developmentally disabled, Briccetti says, "I would tell them if the job is very easy, then they should be OK with hiring them."
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