I thought that these numbers were interesting via this government site. Did you know that as of July 2020 the employment rate for those with a disability is 28.1%? Thats a high number of individuals that have to deal with a mental or physical ailment working! Accolades to all you that have a short term or long term disability. That is a beautiful example of hard work & determination!
The unemployment rate is 14.8% for disabled & 10.4% for those that are not with a disability. Thats interesting how its a tad higher for those with an ailment.
Do you have a disability? Were you termed, laid off and/or do you feel that it has everything to do with your ailment & not specifically to your work performance? Did you file a claim because of it? Did you seek retribution? Did you file a case for wrongful termination?
HR Morning wrote an article back in 2019 about things that people get wrong about wrongful termination. Termination is only deemed wrongful if it is in the legal sense. Opinions aside it only counts as a valid pursute of wrongful termination if the courts believe it to be. Regardless of how we actually feel or how we feel we were treated the courts don’t rule based on our feelings. What we might think is grounds for an EEOC claim may not actually be the case as the above article notes.
On the flip for Employers, it all boils down to the response that employers give towards certain case scenarios. Certain phrasing can warrant a case to be won. Comply Right wrote an article about this very topic. The article goes on to state statistics in reference to retaliation claims. It notes, “In fiscal year 2018, more than 51% of charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) were due to retaliation — a 2.8% increase from the previous year.”
In 2019 the statistics from EEOC stated that 24,238 (33.4 percent) were filed for those with a disability.
There are both mental & physical disabilities. I myself have known a few individuals one being my own Father that was discriminated against because of a disability.
My Father as I have stated before has had Parkinson’s for over 20 years. About 10 years ago my Father was still employed & working full-time. Part of his position was to meet a quota but it was very customer related. So each client my Father would speak to he would take his time & really get to know them, their frustrations/concerns, their family etc. Management did not like that my Father valued quality versus quantity. They eventually ended up gaining knowledge that my Father had been diagnosed with his Parkinsons from another employee. Not shortly after my Father was termed & the news was devastating to my Father that had always prided himself on his work ethic. That was the last time my Father was employed but he went out with a multitude of clients telling his former company how amazing he was, or would ask questions about his where about. People genuinely cared as he had touched so many lives & saw the value in person-to-person customer relations. The value no matter his disability was deeply profound in those that he touched.
So if you have a disability stand proud & feel empowered that you do what others do daily with what others see as a disadvantage. What those that hold judgement do not know is that your ailments give you a leg up on others. It allows you to see the world through empathic eyes, with a kinder heart & a gentle touch. It makes you work harder for what you want, building your perseverance & drive. Raise that hand high in the air if this is you! Own it.
