Deaf Discrimination

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HappinessCounts

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I don't know if this is the right forum for this. Please move if you have to.

I went to a franchise cleaning business to apply for a job. Someone gave me the card with the phone number. I went online and filled out the contact info and asked when I could come in to fill out an application and to please e-mail me. I got a response the next morning, so I went in later in the day to apply.

Everything was going fine. I filled out a DL record form because you need your car to drive to homes. Anyway, she said she would call for an interview after they verify the DL record. That's when I politely asked her to e-mail me because I am hearing impaired. The woman froze for a bit and smiled, and then said she would e-mail me. We shook hands. I went home and briefly e-mailed her to thank her for allowing me to apply and that I looked forward to hear from her. I was hoping she would contact me.

I waited the weekends and, then decided to follow up. She didn't respond this entire week. The application read that they do not discriminate against disabilies :roll:.

Do you think I should go in person and ask her? I don't want to be a pest. What do you think I should do? Do I let it go?

Do you have tips on how to search for a job and be prepared for this? I speak and read lips just fine until I mention my hearing loss to them.

I did go to another place and it was this girl who wanted to get my contact info. I told her to e-mail me. I gave her my name and e-mail, but I knew by the look on her face, I wasn't going to get an e-mail. So far, I have not...

What's wrong with people? Aren't people used to e-mail, yet? This is supposed to be the land of opportunities, and we still get discrimination in 2015? Once they hear your deaf, that's all that stops them from considering for hire.

What has helped you to get hired?
 
When you apply for another job try not to tell them you're hearing impaired and by law you do not have to tell an employer this. You could try to get a phone that print what people say if you have trouble hearing on the phone.
It would be hard to prove you were discriminated against b/c you had no witness . That woman was the one with the handicap ,her brain is not working .
 
whatdidyousay! said:
When you apply for another job try not to tell them you're hearing impaired and by law you do not have to tell an employer this. You could try to get a phone that print what people say if you have trouble hearing on the phone.
It would be hard to prove you were discriminated against b/c you had no witness . That woman was the one with the handicap ,her brain is not working .
Click to expand...

I totally disagree with the bolded. I've never hidden the fact that I'm deaf. It only makes it harder after being hired when you need to request special needs, such as a phone, interpreters for meetings, etc. Otherwise you get "we had no idea we would have to spend money for things for you." Besides, nobody should be ashamed that they have a hearing loss.
 
AlleyCat said:
I totally disagree with the bolded. I've never hidden the fact that I'm deaf. It only makes it harder after being hired when you need to request special needs, such as a phone, interpreters for meetings, etc. Otherwise you get "we had no idea we would have to spend money for things for you." Besides, nobody should be ashamed that they have a hearing loss.
Click to expand...

Right on, Alleycat....Hiding your deafness is being ashamed of yourself.
 
AlleyCat said:
I totally disagree with the bolded. I've never hidden the fact that I'm deaf. It only makes it harder after being hired when you need to request special needs, such as a phone, interpreters for meetings, etc. Otherwise you get "we had no idea we would have to spend money for things for you." Besides, nobody should be ashamed that they have a hearing loss.
Click to expand...

rockin'robin said:
Right on, Alleycat....Hiding your deafness is being ashamed of yourself.
Click to expand...

Agree with RR and alleycat (and disagree with WDYS)

While yes you can 'omit the fact you are HOH or deaf (hearing impaired = euugh)', they will still either figure it out or think you are stupid and have no idea what you are talking about (either in phone or face to face-- or more and more skype interviews).

I'm starting to do this more and more- I use my VRS number and am trying to avoid my cell phone (they STILL call it anyway! grr). I can hear on it super with my DAI cord but for some inane strange reason when I use it on phone calls the other party can't hear ME. So for now that's out. Even so, with the proliferation of recruiters/hiring managers/interviewers with heavy accents it gets really difficult really fast (and I know I'm not the only one- my hearing father and a hearing friend both have expressed frustration too). Plus my speech comprehension even when the person has a bland tone of voice has kind of tanked.

I'm working on it...

It's as several friends have said... if they can't be bothered to work with or understand your deafness then maybe that's not the company for you.
 
whatdidyousay! said:
When you apply for another job try not to tell them you're hearing impaired and by law you do not have to tell an employer this. You could try to get a phone that print what people say if you have trouble hearing on the phone.
It would be hard to prove you were discriminated against b/c you had no witness . That woman was the one with the handicap ,her brain is not working .
Click to expand...


I could have just let her call, and then e-mailed, showed up in person or had someone call for me if she did call me back without mentioning my deafness. This was another option. I want to be assertive, confident and independent. My hearing loss doesn't bother me. It's when it bothers other people and it is made the center of everything.

If I just tell the employer I want them to e-mail me, they look at me wondering, "why?" That's why I tell them. They will find out anyway, so I don't bother keeping it a secret until after I get a job. I don't want them to have surprises.

At one time, I was asked if I needed reasonable accommodations in an interview because I was interviewing just fine. Obviously, I had to tell them because they can tell eventually, and I called them through relay and set up an interview by e-mail. They knew. It's hard to hide it 100% until after being employed.

I wasn't the only person there. There was a very friendly gentleman there. Sadly, he was not the interviewer. I have no idea if he heard what I told her as he was looking at a computer, but did say, "have a nice day" when I told him, "bye!"

I wondered if I should go back one more time or if I shouldn't bother.

Are we really protected by law? It doesn't seem like so :roll:...
 
This is another topic--I also applied to volunteer hoping not to leave a gap in my resume and to give me a routine to do something, and there was a question about if I needed special accommodations. I put "no phone work because I am hard of hearing." I did put down what I wanted to do based on what they had. I got a reply saying they don't need more volunteers at this time and will keep it in file. I had volunteered there briefly. I have no way of knowing if they are being honest or not except to have someone else e-mail them and see what they say to another person.

It's not worth saying anything until you they give you a call and after an interview. It's just not worth mentioning this on applications nor is it worth filling out the demographic section where they ask your gender, race and disability. This shouldn't be on applications. It should be filled out after employment in a anonymous computer. It doesn't seem right no matter what it says. *sigh*
 
the whole gender/race/disability thing is usually completely separate from the application and is supposed to be anonymous (that I know of). You do have the option of declining to answer. I've done it all sorts of ways lol and find that it really doesn't matter how you fill out those 'surveys' (I can't remember what they're called at the moment).

Keep trying with the volunteer thing. I did- I wish I had started it in 2013 though. Didn't occur to me.

This is the site I used (and got 1 volunteer 'job')

www.volunteermatch.org
 
Thank you DeafDucky. I have looked into Volunteer Match. There just a few I could try to apply. I just don't want to volunteer very far from home. I am looking also into local organizations.
 
Welcome.

There are some you can do from home but make sure to check those thoroughly too. Mine is 30-40 minutes away by car but I don't go every day. Good way for me to get out of the house and also keeps my old car running (it's 13 years old).
 
Yes, I saw the virtual volunteer. Gotta check that out to see if there's anything. Saw an organization I liked, but they want receptionist. yuck.
 
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