Episode 17 Discrimination in the Workplace

Welcome to AiArthritis Voices 360. This episode join your host, Tiffany Westrich-Robertson, as she and co-host Danielle Dass discuss discrimination against disabled people in the workplace. They dig into workplace accommodations, what to do if you are a victim of discrimination at work, and the connection between ableism and poor treatment of disabled employees. They also touch on how both delayed diagnosis and shifting identities can contribute to challenges in finding a work environment right for you. If you are a victim of workplace discrimination, a working person living with chronic illness, or a supervisor of other employees, this is an important episode for you! 

 

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Show Notes: Episode 17 – “Discrimination In The Workplace”

 

00:52 - Tiffany welcomes listeners and co-host, Danielle Dass 

02:09 - Today’s topic is discrimination in the workplace

02:20 – Danielle is a patient living with RA, Primary Biliary Cholangitis (an autoimmune liver disease), and Axial Spondyloarthritis

02:51 – Tiffany has Non-Radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis 

03:28 - Danielle’s workplace discrimination story

11:49 - Danielle was told that working was not in her best interest by her supervisors

12:20 - Treatment by supervisors made Danielle feel worthless and depressed

12:45 - Danielle never had a poor performance evaluation at work, but her supervisors still wanted her to resign

13:47 - Danielle went on disability leave 10 days after receiving the rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis

14:02 - She had medical documentation for all of her symptoms and illness even before receiving an AiArthritis diagnosis

14:39 - Danielle was surprised that the people discriminating against her had been her friends and were “nice” people

15:10 - Supervisors can have so much internalized ableism that they may not realize their beliefs are flawed or prejudicial 

16:30 - Tiffany’s employers tried to accommodate her needs, but her needs kept escalating

19:00 - Tiffany changed careers and started IFAA so she could have a flexible work environment 

19:38 - Accepting that you cannot work anymore even with accommodations can be very emotionally difficult for patients  

21:28 - As employers transition to more flexible workplaces, employees living with chronic illness may find it possible to work longer 

21:53 - Delay of diagnosis may prevent some patients from transitioning to more flexible careers before they become too sick to make career changes

22:33 - Workplace hostility and discrimination make it even more difficult to adjust to the identity changes that come when people are diagnosed with AiArthritis diseases

24:24 - Because your profession is so entwined with your identity, workplace discrimination can be extremely emotionally damaging 

26:05 - Tiffany and Danielle asked people to send in stories about their own workplace discrimination and received quite a few responses over a period of only a few days

28:20 - Several patients reported hostile working conditions. Supervisors may hope that an employee will leave voluntarily if the workplace becomes very hostile

30:10 - The idea that accommodating a disabled employee is “unfair” to others is a pervasive theme in the stories received from other patients

31:00 - Supervisors or co-workers see symptoms of invisible illness and interpret it as laziness or incompetence due to internalized ableism 

32:52 - A workplace accommodation is any change in the working environment that allows a person with limitations in their abilities to complete their essential duties 

33:50 - Most people don’t have much experience with workplace accommodations and so are not sure how to accommodate specific challenges 

34:22 - Employees must be able to perform their essential job duties 

35:43 - Many people have difficulty separating the essential job duty from the way it is traditionally accomplished and so may incorrectly assume disabled people cannot perform those duties

36:18 - Internalized ableism is a fear of becoming or being disabled.  See Episode 14 for more information about internalized ableism.

37:37 - Because people confused the objective and the method for accomplishing the objective, employers will list functions as “essential duties” that actually are not essential and can be accommodated. This needs to be addressed to make more jobs accessible to disabled people.

39:01 - If employers are listing essential duties incorrectly, they can discriminate against disabled employees without repercussion

39:40 - Often HR specialists who work in compliance roles have little to no experience or training in disability issues or patient advocacy

42:27  - EULAR was instrumental in getting social responsibility laws passed in Europe to prohibit workplace discrimination against patients with rheumatic disease specifically

43:01 - Accommodations requested by employees must be “reasonable” 

43:44 - ARC Canada provided information on Canadian Law which said that accommodations are unreasonable if they endanger other people or compromise the organization’s financial viability

44:33 - According to the ADA in the US, reasonable accommodations are those which do not impose an “undue hardship” on the employer, which is commonly considered to be any significant difficulty or expense 

45:07 - Whether an accommodation imposes an undue hardship is largely left up to employers to decide with very little oversight

47:33 - People are afraid to file complaints over accommodations because they fear retaliation 

49:00 - Most victims of workplace discrimination cannot pursue lawsuits against their employer because they lack the financial resources to retain legal representation

50:40 - The average age of onset of AiArthritis diseases is 20-40, which is right in the prime of a person’s career usually

52:00 - Patients would benefit from resources that provide guidance about specific accommodations or legal aid 

52:37 - Anyone experiencing discrimination or who is even concerned about potential discrimination should document everything that might be relevant to their story

53:50 - A physical record of documentation enables victims to have specific conversations with people who may be able to help them 

54:49 - Highlighting victim’s stories to appeal to the public about the current state of discrimination in the workplace of disabled people is one of the most important things we can do as a community to change the state of things

55:29 - Victims may remain silent about their discrimination out of a sense of embarrassment 

56:33 - If you are a victim of discrimination, you are not alone 

57:10 - If you are a victim, the best thing you can do for yourself is to talk to someone about your experience

58:04 - People with disabilities are valuable and our ability to contribute to society should not be stunted by prejudice

58:37 - Disabled people who are given an opportunity to work with their talents can do amazing things

58:44 - If you have been the victim of workplace discrimination, please share your story with us on social media @IfAiArthritis on all platforms or via email to podcast@aiarthritis.org