Discrimination due to my vision

[louisianamel]

undefinedWhat is the name of your state? Louisiana

I have been living in Louisiana for a year and a half now and finding a quality job is proving to be harder than I ever anticipated. Due to this I took a low paying position at a local coffee shop as a waitress. To my surprise my hours kept getting cut more and more as the days and weeks went by. When a friend of mine ran into my employer she asked what the reason was and my boss explained that I was slow due to my vision. I was born with an eye disorder that causes my eyes to shake very fast back and forth. I have put up with the taunting all my life and figured as an adult this discrimination would remedy itself with the maturity of others. I was mistaken. To prove to my boss that I was not incompetent or bllind I went out and purchased a pair of glasses that I could not afford, under the assumption that once this happened my hours would go back to 20-30 hours a week as agreed in a telephone conversation with my employer. Again, I was wrong. She still will not give me hours and as a matter of fact has fired me because of all of this. I feel as if I have been beaten for the last time. I want to be compensated for my losses. Can I be?

So sad,
Melissa in Louisiana

 

[cbg]

Very, very important question:

Does this condition that causes your eyes to shake back and forth affect your vision? If so, do the glasses correct the problem?

 

[louisianamel]

My vision is compromised due to my disorder but yes, glasses do correct my vision. I also want to add that I have a valid driver's license and have worked as a property manager for many years in my home state of Maryland with no problems at all.undefined

 

[cbg]

Since your glasses correct your vision, under the Sutton decision of the US Supreme Court, you cannot be considered disabled. As such, terming you is not illegal.

You might want to run the situation past the EEOC just on the possibliity that her behavior BEFORE you provided the glasses might give you some kind of recourse. But the fact that your vision is correctable makes it unlikely that you will qualify for ADA protection.

 

[louisianamel]

How can I get in touch with the EEOC? Also I failed to mention that when wearing my glasses my vision is not 20/20 but 70/20. This seems to be okay with Maryland and Louisiana since I have had valid driver's licenses in both states.

 

[cbg]

www.eeoc.gov

I think you're misunderstanding me. The fact that you have a valid drivers license is going to HARM your case, not help it.