Also, there have been lawsuits and complaints filed by deaf and hard of hearing job searchers against companies that they claim did not hire them or give them a fair chance at jobs:
- In June 1999 deaf job searchers who tried to get jobs at AOL, filed a complaint.
- Wal-Mart Settles Employment Discrimination Claim of Two Applicants Who Are Deaf - This is an archived Equal Employment Opportunity Commission press release from January 2000 about what happened to deaf job searchers who tried to get jobs at Wal-Mart.
Stymied by Blatant Discrimination
I had assumed that having a Master's degree in xxxxx and passing xxx exam would impress any employer when I graduated from the university. I had applied to many places where the Master's degree and xxx were required for the position. I knew I had met all the requirements. I had sent out the resumes, cover letters and applications. I made sure all my resumes, cover letters and applications had no mistakes before I sent them out. There was no one job interview in 7 months!
I decided to call different people and asked them what was wrong with my resumes, applications, etc.. Their responses were that they had already filled in the position months ago. I was suspicious that they decided to discriminate against me because I put down TTD/Voice number and Relay number on all of my resumes and applications. After investigating the newly hired employees, I was stunned that all of them were hearing, couldnt sign well and knew very little about Deaf culture. I was furious but I kept on searching until someone opened the door and gave me the chance. Finally, I was hired. Several months, I met a woman at the conference and knew her because I applied for the position at her company a year before. I decided to walk up to her and ask her flatly about why she didnt want to interview me at all. She admitted that she wanted a hearing person! I became furious at her ignorance about deafness. This woman should not be allowed to work with people with disabilities with that kind of thinking she had! Anyway, I interrupted her and said, "Hearing!!! That's what I thought!" She didn't say any more. She knew she was wrong. I decided to think in another positive way. I figured I should be glad not to work for that woman because she would not be a good employer! That kept me going. I am still working at this place where the opportunity is given to me, and I am going to give this agency my 100 percent best!
Are you deaf or hard of hearing and have you experienced suspected discrimination in the hiring process? Send your stories to your guide for inclusion in future revisions of this article.
