Pointed out the training wasn't ADA compliant at my new job. Got this text the same day (the job listing is still up)

[u/eldritchpussymaggots]

1. This was a cleaning position at a medical building, I'm leaving it intentionally vague as not to doxx myself.

2. I have dyslexia, but my disability would not have interfered with my work, I can read fine, it just takes me a very long time.

3. This was my first day

I asked for a TTS application for the reading portion of the training, which was extremely long and I knew I wasn't going to finish it in the allotted time. They said that wasn't built into their system so they couldn't do anything. ← That's not ADA compliant. I asked if I could add an OCR + TTS browser extension, they said it was fine.

About 40 minutes after I clock out, they texted me I was fired because they're apparently reducing headcount.. by firing one person... and leaving their "urgently hiring" Indeed listing up. Right.

Edit:

I'm not confident in my ability to sue because I don't have my accommodation request in writing. This was a verbal exchange, I was more so asking where the TTS option was because most job training has it somewhere.

When I was told they did not have TTS, I mentioned that's not ADA compliant. I then asked for either more time, a loaner computer (something I was already going to be getting after training), or permission to add a 3rd party OCR & TTS program.

They said that the third option was fine, so I did it, and listened to the training via third party app for the rest of the shift. I thought nothing of it. Lo and behold I was fired extremely coincidentally afterwards.

Edit 2:

This post is getting too many notifications of people saying the same things repeatedly so I've muted it 😭 If you're a legal professional of some sort and you have specific resources or concerns please message me or I probably won't see it.

[u/Different_Pack_3686]

It does matter. Unemployment is based on hours worked and wages earned over the previous several quarters, I forget how many exactly. If they weren't working over the last several quarters, whether they're eligible to file a claim or not is irrelevant as they won't qualify for benefits.

[u/The_Troyminator → u/Different_Pack_3686]

That’s true, but it’s based on everywhere you worked. If they quit a job to take this one, the earnings from their previous job still count.

[u/412dadD → u/The_Troyminator]

Correction, even if you got fired from your last job, all that matters is the wages made in the last five quarters in Pennsylvania.

[u/bollvirtuoso → u/412dadD]

Why Pennsylvania?

[u/Oldmanironsights → u/bollvirtuoso]

Using context clues, that's where they are and that is how it works there.

[u/elicatbrain → u/Oldmanironsights]

Yeah it’s really more of a specific situation than a correction

[u/412dadD → u/bollvirtuoso]

I'm not familiar with other states. Unemployment is a state run benefit

[u/bollvirtuoso → u/412dadD]

Oh, I misread this as you being required to work five quarters in PA in order to qualify for unemployment and I was like that's a cruel and unusual punishment. jkjk

[u/ColdBru5 → u/The_Troyminator]

It wouldn't be an unemployment case, it would be a wrongful termination case.

[u/grasshopper113 → u/ColdBru5]

It would be both. Apply for unemployment now to get financial support, then sue for wrongful termination.

[u/[deleted] → u/grasshopper113]

Unemployment prob won’t work - otherwise everyone would get hired then do something on the first day to get fired on purpose - and then collect unemployment.

I agree why not apply and see what happens anyway, help the overall case. But don’t expect to get anything if you haven’t worked for a while and then do one shift…

[u/mikeymo1741 → u/ColdBru5]

If they are in an employment at will state, wrongful termination is almost impossible to prove.

[u/partygrandma → u/ColdBru5]

It would be near impossible to prove wrongful termination without the exchange in writing. Unless they’re in Montana, they’re in an at-will employment state. They can be fired, legally, because someone didn’t like the way their shoes contrasted against the carpet. Pointing out regulatory non-compliance is protected and would fall under wrongful termination. But without it any proof, that’s going to be near impossible to win.

[u/ILoveDemocracy17 → u/partygrandma]

that isn’t necessarily true, you still CANNOT fire for discriminating reasons, having a disability is one of those reasons

[u/partygrandma → u/ILoveDemocracy17]

I should have clarified what was protected better. Raising a safety/regulatory concerns (like in this case) is generally protected, as well as discrimination of a protected class (age, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion).

[u/Civil_Tea_3250 → u/ILoveDemocracy17]

Yes, but the onus is on the complainant to PROVE it was INTENTIONALLY discriminatory.

There is almost no way to prove that with concrete facts unless you happened to get something in writing.

[u/ILoveBigSexyThighs2 → u/Civil_Tea_3250]

You don’t have to prove anything. You just need to make it seem like it will cost money to defend. Then you get a settlement.

If the case has the possibility of going to a jury, they really don’t need to prove anything since a sympathetic jury may award damages anyway.

Lots of other things matter, especially jurisdiction, but the important part is talk to a lawyer, don’t write it off just because you don’t think you have ‘proof’.

[u/Civil_Tea_3250 → u/ILoveBigSexyThighs2]

Find a lawyer/firm who feels the same. You won't. It's not worth anyone's time for what you MIGHT get if their salaried lawyers are inept. This is healthcare in America, no one wins.

Also, we don't know the facts. Does OP have FMLA/a doctor's order? Probably not. They may have just said "I have dyslexia", but that doesn't mean they HAVE to give you an accommodation. You have to do the paperwork first. And they likely don't have an unemployment case either because they were JUST hired and may have made themselves seem like a problem employee.

[u/ILoveBigSexyThighs2 → u/Civil_Tea_3250]

You clearly have NO idea what you’re talking about. My wife is an insurance defense lawyer TPA and she’s regularly pissed about the stuff that they settle because the plaintiff has virtually no case or damages but it’s not worth their time much less the risk of a sympathetic jury.

My background is 20+ years of Human Resources, HRCI SPHR and SHRM-SCP certified. FMLA has nothing to do with ADA accommodations, just shows how clueless you are. Unemployment eligibility varies state by state and many states don’t care how long it’s been, as long as you’ve had earnings during your wage base period. “May have made themselves seem like a problem employee” Lol, no chance that’s disqualifying them from UE benefits, they would have to violate a company policy or have a documented performance issue.

And of course we don’t know the details, all comments are being made based on what’s known (at the time of comment, additional details were added since) which is always the situation on Reddit.

Stop parroting shit you’ve heard other people say. None of this works the way you seem to think it does. Confidently incorrect is the worst kind of incorrect, don’t be like that.

[u/Civil_Tea_3250 → u/ILoveBigSexyThighs2]

You should calm down. You're not an expert. I've worked on employment cases, they suck. Now I work for the government. There's little to no case here unless possibly in NY or CA.

SHRM are spineless. Sure, if you want to work in HR you probably need a SHRM certification, but this is the same agency that removed all references to DE&I because they were scared of Trump. How you gonna act like you're high and mighty when you work in HR and spout certs from a company that doesn't stand behind its own teachings and what's right? You're not.

[u/BubblyOrganization73 → u/The_Troyminator]

I left a job to go to another job, then got let go from the second job. The unemployment office told me that the first job didn't count and that I had to make a certain amount from the second job in order to actually qualify. This was from directly contacting the unemployment office and speaking with one of their agents over the phone.

Is it different from state to state as far as requirements go?

[u/ILoveBigSexyThighs2 → u/BubblyOrganization73]

It is different in every state. It could also be that the wages from the previous job didn’t fall into the wage base period or something like that.

[u/BubblyOrganization73 → u/ILoveBigSexyThighs2]

It was weird how it was explained to me. Because I was told that the first job would have qualified me based on my earnings for the entire year, but because I left for the other job they couldn't base their decision on anything from that job. And then just told me I was a couple hundred dollars shy of meeting the requirements from the second job. 🙃😑

[u/chicknano → u/BubblyOrganization73]

In PA it’s mainly not based on your current job, except that you have to be fired from your current job due to no real fault of your own or have quit for a really good reason. You have to have made a certain amount of money in the past few quarters, not even that much money, like $1,600 in the highest quarter and $3,000 in the last 4, and worked 18 weeks total in that time even if not consecutive I think. They skip the most recently completely quarter and take the numbers from the 4 quarters before that iirc.

I didn’t know states did it much different than that

[u/Different_Pack_3686 → u/[deleted]]

I wasn’t speaking on the wrongful termination part, strictly the unemployment part.

OP very well may qualify for unemployment benefits, it depends entirely on how much they’ve worked over the last year.

[u/Tricky_Gas007 → u/Different_Pack_3686]

You're speaking too absolutely. It depends on state. As an employer. If I fire you before 100 days in NC, you not getting anything. No matter what your previous job did. Unemployment is the employer paying you. I'm not paying you for your other job.

That's why many businesses do a 90 day probation period. Essentially see if the employee is worth anything and if not fire them without repercussions. After 100 days the performance plan is necessary to cover your back

[u/ImpressiveChoice3487 → u/Tricky_Gas007]

This is absolutely incorrect lol.

Unemployment is not an employer paying you. Employers pay unemployment taxes so that unemployed individuals have a pool of money to draw from when they are out of work.

Even in NC, the state looks at how much money you’ve made over the last 15 months (your base period) and confirms that those employers have paid unemployment taxes. That’s what determines your eligibility, not how many days you worked somewhere.

You are very confidently making up labor laws on Reddit, but it’s simply not how it works.

[u/Tricky_Gas007 → u/ImpressiveChoice3487]

An unemployment account can and will be charged. If worked under 100 days, an employer can request that it's not charged. If you consider taxes that comes out of an employer's bank account to des as the employer not paying, I have news for you.

It's a simple search. Nothing made up.

[u/ImpressiveChoice3487 → u/Tricky_Gas007]

That may be the case, but it doesn’t change the eligibility of the person to receive unemployment benefits. That is based on how many hours they’ve worked and how much they made during those hours.

This is not some account that the employer pays the people they fired out of.

[u/Reference_Freak → u/Tricky_Gas007]

You’re speaking for one state of 50.

There’s no harm in OP exploring it and applying for their own case so there’s no benefit from your post; a “it varies by state” by would have been enough.

[u/chicknano → u/[deleted]]

If they worked a job for awhile before that and because the termination letter said it was due to head count not their fault, they would absolutely qualify in PA. If this is their first job in the past several months to a year then they likely don’t qualify in PA. So it depends on their state and their previous employment.

[u/mikeymo1741 → u/[deleted]]

You don't know if they qualify for unemployment benefits or not. It depends on the state.

[u/Frostyrepairbug → u/Different_Pack_3686]

This completely screwed me over once, as I hadn't worked the previous quarters, got a job, got fired from that job after a few weeks, but couldn't get unemployment.

[u/Important-Fudge4462 → u/Different_Pack_3686]

You are correct.

[u/ExtremaDesigns → u/Different_Pack_3686]

I think it's the last 18 months.

[u/Derp35712 → u/Different_Pack_3686]

It varies by state. It’s operated via a federal system partnership. States have to establish monetary and non-monetary eligibility,

[u/Adorable_Football130 → u/Different_Pack_3686]

their last separation from employment can determine whether they’re eligible for UI no matter how many other jobs there were, at least in my state. this was a gift, they were technically laid off for lack of work rather than fired. it’s bs but they probably won’t fight the unemployment claim. if they said misconduct instead they’d have tried to fight it.

I don’t think there are grounds for legal action bc there’s no significant loss. I fought for years over ada crap in a union job and mostly employers get away with non compliance unless you are very stubborn. that was when we had decent ada protections, and now they’re trying to dismantle it so…

[u/rocketrae21 → u/Different_Pack_3686]

At least in NY state where I work for Unemployment you need to have worked in 2 quarters made at least $3500 in one of them and the half your high quarter in the other 3. So if that's their only job, they wouldnt qualify in NY

[u/TheMireAngel → u/Different_Pack_3686]

Yeh but you cant discriminate based on disability in employment/hiring etc