Letter - An employer's loss

Talk about it

To the editor:

A few days ago someone was telling me about a friend of hers. This friend is someone who is not only a hard worker but also has a good job history. From the description of this person I thought to myself that if I had a store or a restaurant, I would seriously consider hiring the person of whom she spoke. This person had applied for a job in the area, and not been hired. This is not something that is so unusual or bizarre; there are a lot of people fighting for a very few jobs. Tough economics can create a very difficult job market. The part that was unusual was that this woman was told that the reason she would not be hired was due to her association with a supportive employment program.

There were two reasons why this was shocking. The first was the idea something like this could happen in 2009. The second reason was that this is illegal. When hiring someone, even if you suspect that individual of having a disability of any kind, your decision to hire or not to hire cannot be based on their disability. Moreover, why would an employer limit themselves?

I do feel bad for the woman who did not get hired. However, with her history, there is a good chance she will soon find a job. My deepest sadness is for the potential employer who has a professional life filled with mournful assumptions, which will limit him or her to knowing a very small number of people and miss out on great workers: Individuals who have had to struggle to beat the odds and understand the true value of employment. But again, it is the loss of those employers who are not able to see past something viewed as a disability.

Renee Iverson, team leader

Region IV South ACT Team

Alexandria, MN

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