A Seat at the Table: Dissing Our Abilities
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a lawsuit against Capstone Logistics, LLC. The correspondence giving way to the complaint illustrates another example of disabled individuals suffering discrimination due to negative controlling images and assumptions. This is a stern reminder to advocates that our work is far from over on the journey to obtain recognition and validation. Further, this disparate treatment reveals a culture of fostering and enabling implicit bias against disabled individuals.
EEOC Sues Capstone Logistics For Disability Discrimination
From the EEOC Press Release Section. 7/14/17
The television, film, and advertising industries play a large role in the promulgation of such attitudes. Disabled character roles are often offset by an able-bodied individual, with the disabled character requiring the able-bodied individual to gain access, recognition, inclusion, and acceptance. Often times, the disabled individual is used as a segue for growth and self-discovery on behalf of the able-bodied person. Characters with physical disabilities play into this need-based support role well, and many of them die by the end of the film. Further, many disabled characters are portrayed by able-bodied actors; some casting directors claim that the disabled individuals would not be able to perform in the role without safety concerns. I highly doubt this claim.
Why would I mention such industries in association with an employment discrimination case? We must identify the influential players in a narrative that creates a ceiling on the worth and potential of disabled individuals. An overflow of imagery depicting, for the majority, disabled individuals in one of a few ways, creates a real-world tunnel vision. Therefore, exploring the option of employing a disabled individual seems less desirable, more burdensome, and risky.
To change this culture, we must make widespread efforts to represent the disabled community in a truly representative manner:
EEOC Sues Capstone Logistics For Disability Discrimination
Warehouse Refused to Hire Qualified Applicant Because He Is Deaf, Federal Agency Says
BALTIMORE - Capstone Logistics LLC, a leading provider of outsourced supply chain solutions to distribution centers in the grocery, food service, retail and other industries, violated federal law when it refused to hire an applicant because of his deafness, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it announced today.
According to the EEOC's suit, George Harris, who is deaf, applied for a warehouse position with Capstone and the site manager at Capstone's warehouse in Jessup, Md., emailed Harris to schedule an interview. When Harris arrived for the interview on May 6, 2016, the site manager canceled the interview and said they would reschedule so that human resources and an interpreter could be present.
However, Capstone did not contact Harris, the EEOC said. When Harris called using a video relay, the site manager said the human resources department was working to contact an interpreter and that it would take another week or two to schedule an interview.
On May 16, the site manager instead sent Harris a text message saying, "…we have determined that there is no job that we can offer that would be safe for you. There is just too much equipment traffic in our work areas and being able to hear a horn or equipment in operation is paramount for safety. I would not want to put you in a dangerous position." Capstone never asked Harris about his ability to perform any of the essential functions of a warehouse position, with or without reasonable accommodation, the EEOC charged.
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires employers to undertake a rigorous assessment of whether a disabled employee poses a safety threat in the workplace. The EEOC's regulations state that an employer's direct threat assessment must be "based on a reasonable medical judgment that relies on the most current medical knowledge and/or on the best available objective evidence."
The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Capstone Logistics, LLC, Civil Action No. 1:17-cv-01980) in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Baltimore Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. As part of the suit, the EEOC is seeking back pay and compensatory and punitive damages, as well as injunctive relief prohibiting the company from engaging in any employment practices that discriminate based on disability in the future.
"This case should send a strong message to all employers that they must make hiring decisions based on the applicant's qualifications, not speculation about his disability," said Spencer H. Lewis, Jr., district director of EEOC's Philadelphia District Office. "There is a wealth of resources to assist employers in making hiring decisions and providing a reasonable accommodation, including information on our website or on the Job Accommodation Network's website."
EEOC Regional Attorney Debra M. Lawrence added, "Mr. Harris was qualified for the warehouse laborer position but Capstone refused to communicate with him about his ability to do the job let alone explore possible reasonable accommodations that would address any purported safety concerns. The EEOC will take vigorous action when an employer makes a hiring decision based on a bias against or outdated stereotypes about individuals with a disability."
Eliminating barriers in recruitment and hiring, especially class-based recruitment and hiring practices that discriminate against racial, ethnic and religious groups, older workers, women, and people with disabilities, is one of six national priorities identified by the EEOC's Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP). Addressing emerging and developing issues in equal employment law, including issues involving the ADA, is another SEP priority.
The EEOC's Philadelphia District Office has jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. Attorneys in the EEOC Philadelphia District Office also prosecute discrimination cases in Washington, D.C. and parts of Virginia.
From the EEOC Press Release Section. 7/14/17The television, film, and advertising industries play a large role in the promulgation of such attitudes. Disabled character roles are often offset by an able-bodied individual, with the disabled character requiring the able-bodied individual to gain access, recognition, inclusion, and acceptance. Often times, the disabled individual is used as a segue for growth and self-discovery on behalf of the able-bodied person. Characters with physical disabilities play into this need-based support role well, and many of them die by the end of the film. Further, many disabled characters are portrayed by able-bodied actors; some casting directors claim that the disabled individuals would not be able to perform in the role without safety concerns. I highly doubt this claim.
Why would I mention such industries in association with an employment discrimination case? We must identify the influential players in a narrative that creates a ceiling on the worth and potential of disabled individuals. An overflow of imagery depicting, for the majority, disabled individuals in one of a few ways, creates a real-world tunnel vision. Therefore, exploring the option of employing a disabled individual seems less desirable, more burdensome, and risky.
To change this culture, we must make widespread efforts to represent the disabled community in a truly representative manner:
- Stop using cane or wheelchair users as the "go-to" disabled individual in marketing. Disabilities manifest themselves in myriad forms, and not all disabilities are readily apparent to the naked eye. As the young disabled community grows more active, companies that remain stuck to such a stagnant and antiquated advertising technique will lose market share.
- Drop the "Touched by An Angel" paradigm. Disabled characters written into films or television as vessels for self-growth of an able bodied person create a harmful image related to the capabilities of a disabled individual. We aren't here to come into your life, provide you with some form of life changing inspiration, then fade away or die.
- Simon Birch - based on John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany; The moving is a touching example of a classic bildungsroman, but the protagonists' growth is obtain via the struggles of a disabled classmate. *Spoiler Alert* He dies. Read the book instead.
- Stop disability erasure. Thank you to Iron Man 3 for showing us a superhero with a lived experience. Stark's onset disability mirrors many of the experiences of trauma survivors, and the film did not gloss over his symptoms. Further, this film demonstrates that lived experiences do not keep an individual from living. It is part of one's identity, and acceptance helps promote a healthy lifestyle. Sadly, Thor completely ignored the authentic origin story of this superhero, who is sent to Earth in the form of a feeble man who requires a cane to support his mobility.
- Create a culture of inclusion and respect by being an agent of change! Check out the UK's amazing long running campaign End the Awkward. What if respect and inclusion towards people with disabilities became normalized, instead of highlighting how we're not ''normal" . . . hmm??
- Cast disabled individuals as disabled characters! Authentic representation in film and television helps breakdown the cognitive dissonance regarding the disability community. Shout out to Rose Siggins, Matt Fraser, Ben Woolf, Jamie Brewer and Jyoti Amge, actors and self-advocates. However, I must make the point that AHS needs to do better! Freak Show starred many of the aforementioned actors, giving them a platform to shine, but the season's central them was to sensationalize and elicit horror using people with disabilities. See instead Baby Driver, in which deaf actor CJ Jones is cast as Baby's deaf foster dad.
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