Louis Harris and Associates, Inc. conducted the 1986 ICD Survey: Employing Disabled Americans for the International Center for the Disabled (ICD) in New York, in cooperation with the National Council on the Handicapped in Washington, DC., with major sponsorship from the Presidents Committee on Employment of Individuals with Disabilities. For the study, 921 employers of disabled Americans were interviewed about a variety of work and non-work issues. Four groups of business persons were interviewed: equal employment officers, chief executive officers, department heads/line managers, and top management personnel. Employers were questioned about their attitudes and experiences regarding employment of persons with disabilities, the impact of job discrimination, and differences between disabled and non- disabled employees.

The Employers' study focused on several aspects of work and disability including: opinions and barriers to hiring persons with disabilities, workplace policies, comparisons between non- disabled and disabled employees, and suggestions for improving occupational environments, policies, and hiring practices. The study also assessed what employers' believed must be done to enable the disabled to participate fully in the occupational life of the nation. The employers' study includes 158 variables and 921 cases.