Category: Jobs and Employment
I was wondering have anyone ever been turned down because of there blindness, but the application clearly had the discrimination part of the application on the top? If you have what did you do about it? What can you do about it? Just curious just in case I run in to this problem in the future or just for anybody else that may be having this problem or has had this happen to them.
i applied for a job. Went to the interview & after the interview was over the lady said it wasnt gona work out. She didnt specified but i knew it was because i was VI. I didnt give up nor did it lower my confidence. It did however build my confidence & went bak out for more apps. A few wks later i got my job which ive been at for 3yrs now. So dnt give up...ull find something...& always stay confident. Good luck.
Aw, I see. Yeah, I've heard that happen to a lot of peeps around the country and so on...
I have.
There are laws in this country preventing that from happening but some employers will take the chance anyway, and others will find another reason.
My personal view is that sometimes it's just better to cut your losses and move on.
You could potentially take a company to court for discrimination but if you do that then you run the risk of earning yourself a reputation as a troublemaker, which in turn will put other future employers off even interviewing you, let alone employing you. And the question really has to be, do you want to work for someone who will clearly discriminate against you? I think not.
I see, good point on the court thing.
I have had that happen. Luckily, I had another volunteer job at the time, while not paid, gave me more valuable work experience than the paid position.
I personally don't like the fact that employers can't ask outright if you can do the job with your disability. I feel that this makes it difficult for them to get questions answered that might otherwise reassure them and that might let a blind person, or anyone with a disability for that matter, obtain the job. I also hate that they simply can't say that they didn't hire someone because of their blindness etc. At least then the person could explain that they're capable of doing the job or can find out why it was assumed that they couldn't do it so that he/she can be better prepared for the next interview.
But, but, but, even when you ask for positions that your know you could do the manager etc still look at you crazy...
The answer to the question is no. You can go to court, but how can you prove that was the reason? You are in an interview room with another person, so it is your word or their word. You can't recorded an interview unless you say you are, so that doesn't work either. As pointed out better to move on.
I agree with Eleni on one thing. I think it really does harm us that employers are unable to ask us how we would do the job as a blind person. Most people fear the unknown, and are confused by it. Only by getting questions answered can a potential employer learn anything about us. Since I know they can't ask me, I usually find a way to answer their questions without them having to ask. I show them whatever technology I have brought to the interview, explain how it works, how I would incorporate it into the job duties, etc. I explain all that I can do independently, and try to be honest about where I might need accommodation. I also stress that the department of vocational rehabilitation finances the costs of any kind of accommodation: that is not the employer's responsibility. that helps them to know that hiring me will not be any more expensive for them than hiring a sighted person. In that way, I provide them the knowledge they need, without them risking their neck by asking questions.
However, yes, I have definitely been discriminate against because of my blindness. I know I've lost out on jobs because of it, but employers are too smart to say outright that is why you're being turned down. They know if they do, you could take them to court, and rightly so. The Americans with Disabilities Act was supposed to help with this, but I don't believe it has. All it has done is made employers smarter about the ways they discriminate, so that it is harder to prove and thus challenge. All we can do is make the best impression possible, and hope to meet an open-minded employer.
This is one of the resons I do not have a job.
I have had simlar things happen to not for my blindness but just cause I have a learning disability but i never done anything about it
I have had simlar things happen to not for my blindness but just cause I have a learning disability but i never done anything about it
I suspect I was deferred from my last would-be job (that being the call center), because of my blindness. When I called a couple weeks back to find out when I might be called for the second interview they said I was supposed to have they told me that they hadn't started with the second interviews yet. I need hardly point out that my suspicions were raised when two of my now wife's friends were given jobs at the very same establishment. How can people already be getting jobs if they haven't even started second interviews? My guess is that they just gave me that story because they didn't want me and obviously due to the ADA they couldn't tell me straight out that my blindness was a concern. That's one area where I do agree the ADA does more harm than good. I'd much rather have the straight out truth and then make as good a case for myself as I could to see if I couldn't show them that their worries were groundless. This after they told me during the first interview that they'd help with the purchasing of any assistive tech that might be needed for the job if I didn't already have it to hand. And to clear up any confusion about first and second interviews, this call center claims to do two interviews, the first being a talk with one of the current employees about any skills and qualifications and whatnot. The second interview is the one where you take an assessment so they can see your skills. My suspicion is that they had in fact started the second interviews but since they'd already decided to reject my application they just told me that they weren't ready so they could avoid possibly getting in trouble for discrimination. And obviously somebody wasn't being entirely truthful if people were already getting hired at that point. So it's back to the drawing board. Ah well, I suppose if all else fails my wife can ask at her work if there might be worthwhile jobs that I might possibly be able to do. But I guess we'll see...