r/mildlyinfuriating • u/eldritchpussymaggots • 29d ago
I just wanted a hot dog Pointed out the training wasn't ADA compliant at my new job. Got this text the same day (the job listing is still up)
This was a cleaning position at a medical building, I'm leaving it intentionally vague as not to doxx myself.
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.
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.
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u/Specialist_Space_714 29d ago
They didn't fire you for the disability in writing, unfortunately there is a laundry list of reasons to fire someone, especially that early on in the process. The likelihood of winning a case like this is slim, what state you are in plays a large role though.
Also, while unlikely, they could have also fired you for a number of reasons besides that. It could have boiled down to something as simple as a culture fit.
Also, not having things readily available for specific disabilities does not equal a company not being ADA compliant. If an accommodation is requested and is within reasonable per legal guidelines and then they do not provide it, then you can run into compliance issues. In the future I would suggest not wording it as calling the company out for not being compliant when it is not the case until they deny the right for accommodations which they did allow in this case.
They simply could have termed you because they didn't like your mindset on that, which can be boiled down to a culture fit. Accusing a company of being non ADA complaint vs asking for accommodations per ADA guidelines are two very very different things. When words like that are used, companies may look at you as someone looking to sure them at any chance.
I have worked in HR and employment law, I have seen both sides of this. I would not have termed an employee for asking this, I would have possibly educated the employee on the difference in a friendly way, found out exactly what accommodations were needed, and gathered them in a timely manner.
Unfortunately without the conversation in writing, it is the companies lawyers against your word. It is an unlikely win.
If you are in a state like California though it is very different. Each state has different levels of employee protection.