Fired for Ignoring GM of a casino

[laser7587]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

So I found out that I am fired yesterday, from a job I've only had since thanksgiving. I was hired as a valet at a new casino that was opening, on the soft opening night, apparently the GM of the casino was watching us, and he "told me to hustle" and I "ignored him and continued to walk" I don't remember this incident at all.

What I do remember is my lifelong struggle with ADD, and the only way i can concentrate is by focusing in on my task and tuning everything else out, so if someone is trying to talk to me, if they don't address me by name or get my attention, I won't hear them at all.

Now the soft opening was on Dec 16th, and they just fired me on dec 27. There was absolutely no warning other than when I went in to look at the schedule I wasn't on it. The valet managers told me that they didn't agree with the GM of the casino and that they didn't think I should be fired.

I think that my rights have been violated, and that I have been discriminated against for having a disability. Do I have any legal leg to stand on?

 

[Antigone*]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

So I found out that I am fired yesterday, from a job I've only had since thanksgiving. I was hired as a valet at a new casino that was opening, on the soft opening night, apparently the GM of the casino was watching us, and he "told me to hustle" and I "ignored him and continued to walk" I don't remember this incident at all.

What I do remember is my lifelong struggle with ADD, and the only way i can concentrate is by focusing in on my task and tuning everything else out, so if someone is trying to talk to me, if they don't address me by name or get my attention, I won't hear them at all.

Now the soft opening was on Dec 16th, and they just fired me on dec 27. There was absolutely no warning other than when I went in to look at the schedule I wasn't on it. The valet managers told me that they didn't agree with the GM of the casino and that they didn't think I should be fired.

I think that my rights have been violated, and that I have been discriminated against for having a disability. Do I have any legal leg to stand on?

I would hope that you have two legs to stand with, but with regards to you being fired - it was perfectly legal.

 

[pattytx]

ADD may or may not be a disability under the ADA; the only condition that is automatically covered is HIV/AIDS. Anything else must be looked at on a case-by-case basis.

Did the employer know you have ADD? They can't be held responsible for providing an accommodation for a condition they didn't know about.

 

[cbg]

What's more, not only do they have to know about the condition, but unless the condition is self-evident (for example, if you were in a wheelchair), their simply knowing about the condition is not sufficient for an accomodation to be required. Nor do they have to permit behavior that they would not permit in a non-disabled employee.

So before you would have any kind of claim for discrimination, ALL of the following would have to be true:

1.) The employer would have to know that you have ADD
2.) You would have had to have formally requested accomodation under the ADA
3.) The employer would have to have investigated, agreed that your condition met the definition of a disabilty, and worked out with you what was a reasonable accomodation
4.) The employer would have to have agreed that focusing to the point of ignoring upper management when they spoke to you was a reasonable accomodation that they were satisfied with

If all of the above is not the case, then any claim for disability discrimination is going to fall flat on its face.

 

[commentator]

File for your unemployment. It is possible that you were terminated without a good misconduct reason. If you have worked for covered employers during the past two years or so, you may be able to pull in all these wages and set up a claim which is approved.

Though the employer had a right to fire you for any reason, he did not give you the opportunity to change your behavior and thus keep your job. In fact, he fired you for something you were not even aware you had done. Disability or not, you were not committing a major misconduct act. He did not give you any specific warning, such as verifying that you heard him and were ignoring his instructions.

If you had told him to go "^%$# himself when he told you to hustle, that might've been a different issue. But since you were terminated pretty much through no fault of your own, you very well may qualify for unemployment. That's about as good as it will get for you in this circumstance.