Employer Services

South Carolina Commission for the Blind assists residents of South Carolina who are blind or low vision in achieving, maintaining, or advancing in competitive employment. Partnering with businesses and companies such as yours has allowed us to fulfill this mission for more than 55 years.

We are excited to learn about your company and employment needs. Our agency is committed to building a strong partnership with your organization and providing qualified candidates.

Our consumers are highly trained and qualified for the positions they seek. We provide training using up-to-date assistive technology.

Benefits of Partnering with SCCB

We provide the following types of services for your company:

  • Helping you find qualified, job-ready candidates.
  • Consultation and guidance on identifying opportunities that you may have available for one of our job-ready candidates.
  • Assistance with the purchase of assistive technology equipment an employee may need to perform their job duties.
  • Support and technical services during the training process.
  • On-the-job training, saving you time and money training a new employee.
  • Follow-up services providing long-term support.

Financial Incentives for Employers

The Federal Government provides several tax incentives to encourage businesses to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Below are three tax credits available to employers when hiring an individual who is blind or low vision in the state of South Carolina. For additional information, visit the IRS website.

Disabled Access Credit

Businesses with 30 or fewer employees or with $1,000,000 or less per year in total revenue may receive a tax credit for the cost of accommodations, such as barrier removal and provision of auxiliary aids and services for employees (for example, providing sign language interpreters, creating Braille documents, or building ramps). Employers may take the credit each and every year they incur access expenditures.

Architectural Barrier Removal Tax Deduction

This tax deduction encourages businesses of any size to remove architectural and transportation barriers to the mobility of the elderly and of persons with disabilities. Businesses may claim a deduction of up to $15,000 a year for qualified expenses for items that normally must be capitalized.

Work Opportunity Tax Credit

This tax credit is available to employers for hiring individuals from certain target groups who have consistently faced significant barriers to employment, including people with disabilities and veterans. The maximum tax credit ranges from $1,200 to $9,600, depending on the employee hired and the length of employment.

Job Accommodations

Many people may be under the impression that individuals who are blind or low vision can only work in specific jobs. But the truth is that individuals who are blind or low vision can be successful in any job. Sometimes they may simply require an appropriate accommodation.

Reasonable accommodations are decided on a case-by-case basis and depend on the individual employee’s needs. Employers should consult the employee about whatever tools may be necessary to accomplish their job.

Accommodations may include:

  • Making existing facilities accessible to people who are blind or low vision
  • Braille displays
  • Braille printed materials
  • Screen Readers/Synthetic Speech programs
  • Screen Magnifiers