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Fired for being dyslexic

This is not my story but I am posting it for someone with their enthusiastic consent. A friend of mine started what she thought was a full time serving job at a pretty mediocre diner chain. When she started they handed her a thick handbook to read in a sitting and sign. She scanned some of the contents and just signed as she knew it would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible, task. The manager made a comment about how it was fast so my friend explained she had a severe reading disability and wouldn't be able to read and process it. They would get a free meal on shift but could only bring it home if they paid for the styrofoam box. She was bringing the second half of the meal home since she had very little money to eat for the week. The manager yelled at her that…


This is not my story but I am posting it for someone with their enthusiastic consent.

A friend of mine started what she thought was a full time serving job at a pretty mediocre diner chain. When she started they handed her a thick handbook to read in a sitting and sign. She scanned some of the contents and just signed as she knew it would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible, task.

The manager made a comment about how it was fast so my friend explained she had a severe reading disability and wouldn't be able to read and process it.

They would get a free meal on shift but could only bring it home if they paid for the styrofoam box. She was bringing the second half of the meal home since she had very little money to eat for the week. The manager yelled at her that she needed to pay for the box and she apologized and said she didn't realize. The manager then made a snippy comment along the lines of, “you would've known that if you bothered to read the handbook.” Her dyslexia was diagnosed after High School, so she struggled a long time with people acting like she was being stupid or lazy by not being able to read well. So, the inappropriate comment was especially hurtful. Upset and angry, she walked off to cool down.

She calmly went back to the manager and explained that she was uncomfortable with the comment as she was essentially making a dig at her for having a disability. The manager didn't apologize and back peddled saying she would've had someone read it to her. (Why she didn't offer initially is beyond us. It also would've felt fairly embarrassing to have somebody making ableist comments read to her.)

While she was on the phone with me telling me this story, she received her schedule for the next week and had some minimal dishwashing shifts only. It was obvious to me the shady the manager was trying to screw her because she stood up for herself.

I was right, as she called again and told me she was fired. The manager worked with HR up with the excuse that she falsified her application by not stating that she needed special accommodations as reading is part of her job. My friend also made an innocent joke about stealing an egg (yes, a joke about stealing a single chicken egg), and the manager stated that they also take that very seriously. She also said that my friend “asked too many people about the shift meal policy.” (What?)

Tldr: My friend stood up for herself when her new restaurant manager made an inappropriate comment about her dyslexia, then proceeded to fire her soon after for 'falsifying information on her application, since she didn't list the need for special accommodations.'

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