Monday, August 30, 1998
Bias in workplace hurts everyone
BY DEBORAH KENDRICK
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Maybe I'm naive. Well, OK, probably I'm naive.
But when I overheard someone saying that a certain public recreational facility in Cincinnati didn't admit ''people of color,'' I was incredulous.
I shouldn't have been, though. That bit of speculation turned out to be erroneous but the fact that someone would even think of it should not surprise me. I should know by now that the worst kinds of discrimination are the low frequency, undercurrent murmuring varieties.
Workplace discrimination often shows up that way: subtle, putting on the airs of respectability. Whether it takes the shape of stiff propriety or sleazy spite, the results are the same. The dirty truth is, many of us still don't want to deal with a person whose appearance or circumstances differs much from our own.
Mr. G (who asks that his name not be used due to a pending lawsuit) is a poignant example. He was fired from his job last year, and believes it was because he has a disability. Whether the charge can be proved, the bottom line is that ''nobody,'' should have to be treated as he says he has been.
This is what Mr. G says: As manager of his department in a sporting goods store, he did his job well. Then he realized that the owner's son was playing pranks on him, the kind that are funny only to those sick enough to perform them.
Signs slipped onto Mr. G's back told others he was a freak. An industrial strength adhesive was applied to his toilet seat. Derisive laughter (after he became ill) accompanied the information that his nemesis had urinated in his soda.
Mr. G reported these incidents to his employer. The next day he was fired, accused of stealing.
Whether he stole any money is not of primary significance here. He says he was set up. The fact, though, that such cruelty could exist in 1998 is appalling.
It's not his fault that he has a slightly misshapen forehead. In fact, he's grateful to be alive.
Cycle accident injuries
Since his one and only spin on a motorcycle 20 years ago, he appreciates the gifts of walking and thinking. The head injury resulting from that crash put him in a coma for 12 days, a wheelchair for months and a state of partial anxiety and concentration difficulties for life. He is lucky to have only mild brain damage, he says, and the abnormality in his forehead comes from the piece of skull that was removed to save his brain.
Like many people with traumatic brain injury, Mr. G is fond of order. He likes it when things make sense. The abuse he suffered makes no sense.
Blatant humiliation
The degree to which Mr. G was humiliated is certainly more blatant than most, but we fool ourselves if we pretend that workplace discrimination is a thing of the past.
Baby boomers are acquiring age-related disabilities daily:
Hearing losses that make telephone work more tricky.
Vision losses that cause eye fatigue at the computer screen.
Arthritis rendering the familiar trek up and down stairs a challenge.
State civil rights laws, as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act, make discrimination against people with such problems illegal. If a person can still do a job with reasonable accommodation, we are discriminating if we prevent that from happening. Those accommodations might be as simple as an adjusted schedule for someone with fatigue from multiple sclerosis, or an automatic door for someone with joint stiffness.
It's hard to look at, but if we don't make ourselves see disability discrimination for what it is, we'll be stuck with it. In the workplace, our greatest loss will be that of qualified workers.
Deborah Kendrick, a Cincinnati free-lance writer, is a nationally recognized advocate for people with disabilities. Write: Deborah Kendrick, Cincinnati Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati 45202; e-mail: 71340.473@compuserve.com.
KENDRICK ARCHIVE
