Board 8 > Seeking advice for an acquaintance

(+) Yeah! (+)

He had double jaw surgery over a year ago I think and he's still having a lot of pain to this day. The pain is severe enough that it is considered a disability. He works at a bank and is the youngest one there. Ever since he had the surgery, he noticed his coworkers started treating him differently. Whenever something goes wrong at the bank, he is the first one they blame. He doesn't know whose side the managers are on. I was going to suggest he document stuff like this in detail, but it sounds like he doesn't have a close relationship with anyone there and who knows what "HR" looks like. I told him to start applying for jobs, and he said it'll be tough since he has trouble speaking, but he can try looking for a job that requires less talking.

He seems to be at a shitty company that he stayed at for 7 years, so I really don't know what else to tell him other than to move on. He doesn't seem very in touch with the people he works with honestly, so there's not much he can do on. Should he disclose his disability during interviews? I thought he should be transparent about it so companies aren't confused, but how many companies out there want to hire a disabled person?


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He should still document it. I'm sure there are organizations out there that help people with disabilities who are abused at work, even if HR won't

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He should disclose his disability if the company will need to provide any sort of accommodation for him to do the job. It's illegal for companies to companies to discriminate on the sole basis of a disability as long as the disability does not prevent him from doing the job.

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Bartzyx posted...

He should disclose his disability if the company will need to provide any sort of accommodation for him to do the job. It's illegal for companies to companies to discriminate on the sole basis of a disability as long as the disability does not prevent him from doing the job.

It's illegal, but companies do it anyway for sure. All they have to say is "We didn't think you were the right fit for the job" and it's really hard to prove it's just a pretext for discrimination. It's a dicey situation.
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right, which is why documentation is necessary, in case laws need to be enforced

of course, in reality people rarely actually pull the trigger out of inconvenience

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Sounds like your friend is a bad employee that just hasn't realized what all of his co-workers see

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First, staying at that job is a recipe for disaster. I think the metaphor is "stay one step ahead of the axe".

Second, make sure he discloses the disability. I found a random website referencing the ADA, and it appears to cover certain major life activities:
https://www.disabilitysecrets.com/resources/disability/short-term-disability-laws/does-americans-disabilities-act-ada-cover-short

Your friend could likely land an office position that doesn't require much spoken communication (data entry, for example). With e-mail and instant messenger programs, he can probably perform well enough.

What state is this? Because I'm sure on a federal level any workplace impropriety can be reported to the Department of Labor, but different states might have their own specific orgs better suited for it.

In my case I had an issue that I had to report to the California Labor Commission which serves that function for the state of CA and it was extremely painless and once I reported the issue they handled everything else and represented my interests to resolve the matter. But my case was a very open and shut situation without much room for subjectivity so something like a hostile work place can be less clear cut.

BUT with that said your friend is going to want to take a documented action to cover his ass. Such as e-mailing his direct supervisor to request an appointment/meeting to discuss the work environment.

"Ever since I my surgery I have noticed a negative change in the workplace environment and I would like an opportunity speak with you about this matter"

Even something as simple as that, in an email, to a member of management will provide so much ass-covering if there is any retaliation. If they make his job more difficult he can say "I sent the email on this day, I had a meeting with my boss on this day, and shortly thereafter they did [this] which made my work more difficult". Or if they try to fire him he can pretty easily take them for everything. And it isn't that he should be going out of his way to pick a fight, but he needs to understand that he has rights as a worker and there are simple steps he can take to give himself the best possible chance to protect those rights.

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Yep, document, document, document.

If he has a phone call or in person meeting about the matter, make sure to send an email to himself and the people involved ASAP to document what was discussed and any actions that will be taken.

"Per our meeting on ##/##/#### regarding topic XYZ:
<add details here>

If any of this does not look accurate, please let me know."

Management is going to have their hackles raised by this but you've got to protect yourself.

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This is in CA. Good advice from @Forceful_Dragon and @Seanchan and anyone else that is calling for him to document everything. I think having a written trail of wanting to speak to management is smart because if there is retaliation, it makes it very clear where that stems from

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Forceful_Dragon posted...

In my case I had an issue that I had to report to the California Labor Commission which serves that function for the state of CA and it was extremely painless and once I reported the issue they handled everything else and represented my interests to resolve the matter. But my case was a very open and shut situation without much room for subjectivity so something like a hostile work place can be less clear cut.

I was foolish and thought HR would help serve my interests. If only I knew.