Being disabled is enough of a challenge. You certainly don’t need someone making it harder by being outright ableist, whether that’s out in public or in the workplace. After all, that’s what the whole Americans with Disabilities Act is there to protect you from.
One disabled employee bumped heads with an openly ableist department manager who refused to reasonably accommodate their condition. What the department manager didn’t count on, though, was the employee knowing their rights inside and out. They shared their tale of karmic intervention with an online community.
More info: Reddit
Disabled people face enough daily challenges, but one ableist manager thought she’d add more to the list
Image credits: hryshchyshen / Freepik (not the actual photo)
A disabled employee asked for accommodations to be made for their condition, but she decided to condescend towards them as if they didn’t know their rights instead
Image credits: The Yuri Arcurs Collection / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The following day, the disabled employee was back with some choice words for the assistant store manager and a list of the legal stuff to back them up
Image credits: yaroslav-astakhov- / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The employee made it very clear that they could take action but declined to sue the store since they were only working there for a short while anyway
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
When their message went up the ladder, the accommodations were made for them and the ableist manager got booted down to a much lesser role at a different store
Image credits: thesystemforce
The disabled employee hadn’t asked for revenge, just fairness, but karma showed up with a folding front row seat that day
Seven years ago, OP, a disabled person, landed a dream job, but had to wait a few months to start. Needing a temporary paycheck, they took a cashier job at a local grocery store. During the interview, they disclosed their cane use and need for a chair. Management said it wouldn’t be a problem. Spoiler alert: it was.
On their first day, there was no chair. A manager claimed chairs were a “liability,” even though customers never entered the register area. OP calmly clocked out, explaining they wouldn't work without proper accommodation. Minutes later, a chair appeared. OP worked two peaceful days in the liquor department until the schedule changed, and drama returned.
Before their next shift began, the department manager called a meeting with OP. She dismissed the chair request and claimed accommodations weren’t for “people like them.” She even said they could ban the cane. Stunned but steady, OP walked out but came back the next day armed not just with a cane, but legal knowledge too.
They explained the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in detail. Mentioned a previous lawsuit they'd won. Gave the store a choice: accommodate or face consequences. Suddenly, OP got their chair, and so did another disabled employee. As for the cruel manager? She was demoted and quietly transferred.
Image generated by Bored Panda using ChatGPT
OP’s story reveals just how much discrimination disabled folks still face in the workplace, if not in public. While the ADA stipulates disabled peoples’ rights and offers them some form of legal protection, enforcement can be an uphill battle. So, as a disabled person, what are your rights in the workplace?
According to The Public Interest Law Center website, the ADA and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act prohibit employers from firing, demoting, refusing to hire or promote a qualified individual with disabilities on the basis of disability. These laws also require employers to provide reasonable accommodations.
A reasonable accommodation is any change in the work environment or the manner in which work is conducted that enables an individual with disabilities to enjoy equal employment opportunities and participate fully in the workplace.
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website, to be protected under the ADA, you must have, have a record of, or be regarded as having a substantial, as opposed to a minor, impairment.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union website, if you believe your rights have been violated, you can file a charge of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or your state fair employment practices agency.
OP’s track record certainly suggests they know their disability law back to front and inside out. Perhaps the store’s ex-department manager will think twice before stepping on the rights of another disabled person. We certainly hope so.
What would you have done if you’d found yourself in OP’s shoes? Do you think they should have sued, or was getting their manager demoted punishment enough? Let us know in the comments!
In the comments, some readers shared their own battles with ableism while others celebrated the original poster for standing up for their rights
