Never posted in this sub Reddit, looking for real suggestions please. I (M27) Recently I got a job as a home health aide. Basically I go to peoples houses and take care of/supervise the needs of intellectually challenged clients. The job isn’t particularly difficult but there was a LOT of administrative requirements before being hired, such as child abuse/elder abuse screenings, background checks, fingerprints, etc. for reference, I have worked as a CNA before in a large nursing home as well. Anyway, I have completed all of the requirements and started working, including getting the Covid vaccine, which I otherwise wouldn’t have gotten.
When I was interviewed I specifically asked them if they had any individual clients who did not consent to care by a male. They said they were not aware of any. In my experience about 5-10% of female clients I’ve worked with did not want male care. In which case you respect the individual and have a woman give the care. No big deal. However, after I did orientation I got a call from one of the house managers telling me that the organization does not hire males in my job. I asked why and apparently it’s a “policy” requested by the families of the clients. Absolute BS. I called HR and he was incredibly unhelpful, I did give them a bunch of shit and really put them on the defensive and he said there was one house I could work at (because they have both male and female clients).
The problem is that this organization has 7 houses, and I can only work at 1 of them apparently. Which fucks over my abilities to get hours by, well… 7 times. Also, the house is 20 minutes away from my home whereas the original cluster of houses I was going to work at when hired is 5 minutes away.
Additional info: I have since worked 2 full shifts at the house I am “allowed” to work at. None of the female clients cared that I was a male. Per usual (most of the time). When on the phone with the HR guy I told him that this policy is discriminatory and possibly illegal. He did not seem to care and was incredibly unhelpful. I even made a comparison that if a client did not want people of color to care for her, they would have to respect that, but if their policy stated “whites only” for the entire house, this organization would be shut down by the state. He did not have a comment.
What can I do? Other than telling them to fuck off and finding a different job, which I might do. I’ve looked into reporting them to the state but am certain nothing will be done about it.
Any suggestions or comments I will answer.
Tl;dr:
Employer says I can’t work at 6/7 locations available because I am a man. Claims it is requested by clients, it is (allegedly) an official policy. HR is not helpful but I am very confident this is discrimination.