Everything is negotiable, but not for everyone: The role of disability in compensation

Although research has examined the role of disability in the employment cycle, the compensation stage of this process has remained nascent. Drawing on the bias literature and expectancy violation theory, disability within the context of salary negotiation is examined across three consecutive studies. Study 1, a vignette experiment, found that fictitious job candidates with disabilities received similar initial salary offerings relative to fictitious job candidates without disabilities. Our finding of a pay similarity in the initial salary offering phase of the compensation process raises additional questions of whether those with disabilities ultimately receive lower wages than those without disabilities. To address this question, Study 2 used a computer-simulated negotiation to determine if pay differences among those with and without disabilities originate during the negotiation process. As expected, participants with disabilities negotiated lower salaries, and this effect was exacerbated when perceptions of disability discrimination were higher rather than lower. Finally, in an effort to better advise organizations and employees, Study 3 sought to understand if employees with disabilities experience different outcomes when negotiating salary. Using a vignette experimental design, we found that those with disabilities were offered lower final salaries than those without disabilities and that differences in both social and economic outcomes occur through a lower perceived likelihood that the job candidate will negotiate. Collectively, this research offers novel theoretical insights into the role of disability in the negotiation process and provides recommendations to those with disabilities and organizations on how to approach the compensation process. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).