Yesterday I get a Sidekick message from a very upset husband. The company installed a new machine in the shop and they were showing the employees how to operate it. There is no interpreter for him so he is “in the dark”.
“Is your boss aware that you are in the dark?”
“Yes, he knows.”
“Where is the boss?”
“He’s standing in front of me. As usual cow is ignored and forgotten.”
It tears at my heart when he says things like this, especially when there is no excuse for making him feel this way. When he was hired, Voc Rehab and the interpreter told the boss that whenever they had a training session the interpreter would be available for free. It’s not like they were doing this at the last minute and did not have time to call her. The machine was installed the day before. After all he went through to secure a qualified and responsible interpreter, the company fails to use her.
I do not understand how people can be so ignorant. Was the boss thinking Steve could figure it out by himself? Was he thinking he would never have an opportunity to use it anyway? Was he planning on training him at a later time? From what Steve has been telling me it appears they are pleased with his work, but he fears now that he will be stuck doing the same thing all the time because they are not willing to train him on new machines. To add more salt to the wound, the machine is computerized and Steve believes he knows more about how to operate a computer than any of the other employees.
Steve emailed Voc Rehab and the interpreter. He said she was just as upset as he was, so hopefully someone will talk to the boss about this situation. It is either ignorance or discrimination.
Filed under: Job Hunting and Working
