Job Discrimination Issue -- HR agrees with me but can't get anybody to act
jrdjr30
2 Posts
Dear Forum Members, Please help with the following situation: My professional life is extremely static right now. The CEO's office needs convincing that I'm ready for bigger things considering that I don't have an official work history to match the recommendations I've been getting. A convincing work history is hard to put together as the hiring bosses in "my" company consider me totally unsuited for caseworker / customer service rep. jobs & therefore refuse to hire me. Personnel states that comparison to other employees and quantity of work are not bases upon which classifications are determined and insists that under their theory of presumed competency I have as much right as anyone to the production jobs that normally serve as stepping-stones for career-minded individuals. The two classifications being argued back and forth are in the same paygrade but with different starting prerequisites. I meet the prerequisites for the production job but not officially for the Administrative Assistant position despite 13 years of quasi-work / consulting done by request in expectation of my long-promised hire. Therefore, I will not qualify for the classification the hiring bosses believe I already truly belong to - but cannot be hired in - until the holdouts hire me for about two years and transition me through an assignment change. Did I mention that I fall into an ADA-protected category - cerebral palsy with fine motor impairment - and that the job that I've been fighting for these past seven years has a 168% annual turnover rate due to hyper work volumes? I have freely offered to provide my own reasonable accommodation, a copy of Dragon@ speech-recognition software to do my typing for me. But, in this workplace, even established workers are increasingly facing suspensions for failing to meet several different quotas at the same time. The hiring bosses refused a direct request from the Exec. Vice President's office to hire me. The solution the hiring holdouts offer to this situation is for their boss's boss's boss (the CEO) to hire me in a discretionary vanity job. "The Solution": A vanity job that lands the company a very experienced AA as soon as he qualifies, was recommended to the CEO by the EVP. The CEO promptly rejected this suggestion, saying "No Way", that he c/w/ouldn't give anyone what they wanted if his hiring authorities hadn't given them what they needed to get there on merit. Otherwise, the CEO said, how could he be sure he was getting the most qualified person for the position? and besides he already had two better qualified, personal friend candidates for those vanity jobs. The obvious answer to this whole mess is, of course, a discrimination lawsuit, but I don't have the funds for a lawsuit (a contingency fee arrangement won't work in this case as the emotional distress damages are capped at $2600.oo without a full-blown trial and any lawyer who takes the case will be outnumbered 10 to 1). I also don't have the inclination to include / involve my friends in a suit concerning a situation they've been working tirelessly for years to avoid (the CEO's instrangience (SP?) is still a complete shocker to everyone). I have considered a systemic discrimination complaint with the EEOC. Any advice or ideas for a peaceful resolution would be greatly appreciated.
Comments
Sounds like there are a couple of issues here - if you've been promised a certain job with some specificity, you can have an implied contract claim. Then, of course, is the disability issue, i.e., if you think that you are being denied the job b/c of you're disability and you're otherwise qualified to do it. I don't see you getting anywhere with this company though...it seems like you have done all you can, gone to HR, etc. You could file a complaint with the EEOC, but i know that most complaints end in a settlement, if anything - they rarely bring a lawsuit.
Sounds like if you don't want to get a lawyer involved, you may want to try to get a job with another company, unless there is someone higher up in this one that you can go to..
Good luck!