ORLANDO, Fla. -- A deaf man says Disney wouldn't hire him because of his disability. Peter Tyler has spent the past year unemployed and he's been trying to file a complaint with the state, but he says the court won't give him a hearing because of his deafness.
WFTV asked court officials why they can't give him an interpreter.
“Oh, it's really frustrating,” Tyler said.
Tyler, 45, says the frustration was only beginning when Disney refused to hire him as a housekeeper more than a year ago.
“They refused to hire me, because they think I'm not qualified,” he said.
Tyler filed a complaint with the state, claiming he was denied a chance at the job because he's deaf, but Tyler's been waiting for a hearing on that complaint for more than a year.
“And somehow, the judge cancel it, cancel it, cancel it, constantly, and it's really frustrating,” he said.
Tyler said he was repeatedly denied the right to an interpreter during hearings at the state building in Orlando. Until recently, the administrative hearing judge said it wasn't his department's responsibility to provide one. In writing, the judge said that was up to the Florida Commission on Human Relations.
But Tyler filed his own motion demanding the court comply with the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
While a deputy chief judge with the state wouldn't comment on Tyler's case, he noted a new hearing has been set for August and the state of Florida will now provide an interpreter.
With the help of an interpreter, Tyler told WFTV he's not satisfied.
“Do you feel like you've been denied justice here?” WFTV reporter Eric Rasmussen asked.
“Yes. Not being equal justice,” he said.
Disney declined to comment for WFTV’s story, but points to the fact that the Florida Commission on Human Rights initially found Tyler's complaint to have "no cause."
