These jobs pay relatively well, from $10 - $14 an hour to $20 an hour for those who earn a commission when taking orders over the phone. Firms like Willow, based in Miramar, Fla., often treat their agents as independent contractors, with no benefits, but many disabled agents qualify for Medicare.
Customer service is not the only job that can be moved into the home. Janet Eckles, 53, of Orlando, Fla., who is blind, works full time for Language Line Services of Monterey, Calif., taking calls from hospitals and courts that need a Spanish translator. Clients call a central number and are routed to either Ms. Eckles or hundreds of other translators. She uses a computer to train other Language Line interpreters over the phone. For that, she uses a Windows program called JAWS (Job Access With Speech). It is customized to let her navigate her computer using a keyboard rather than a mouse, and it reads the out put into one ear while she talks to a trainee, like a television anchorwoman taking cues from a producer. "It does take some getting used to," she said.
Some call center operators have found that disabled workers stay in their jobs longer and are more loyal than other workers. They also tend to be older and better educated, and they will work for less. "This is an untapped pool of labor that doesn't have many other options," said M.J. Williard, who runs the National Telecommuting Institute in Boston, an advocacy group that trains disabled workers for jobs. Ms. Williard works with state vocational programs to help her disabled clients find jobs.
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