Sorry for any formatting issues. I’m on mobile and kind of upset right now.
I’ve been applying to all kinds of places and all kinds of jobs. I have two kids, getting a divorce, and I’m falling behind on bills. I was recommended to go to a staffing agency close to my house. They matched me right away and my first day was yesterday like it says in the title.
I’m hard of hearing. I make it well known and I am a little ashamed of it but I do what I can to make it work. Hearing aids are expensive so I use the accessibility settings on my AirPods to help me hear. While we were being given a tour I told the woman in charge that I know headphones aren’t allowed on the floor but I was going to keep them on during the tour and take them off after it was over. She seemed okay about it but did ask if I was completely deaf and I said no. We did the tour and she told us to go on a 15 minute break then meet her in front of the break room.
After the break I’m waiting and she doesn’t show up. It’s been 25 minutes since she said to go on break and finally someone comes up to us. He says “I don’t know what happened but y’all can clock out and go home and your staffing agency will be in contact with you.”
I thought it was weird but it also seemed very disorganized from the beginning of the orientation so I just grabbed my things and left.
My staffing agency just called me and told me I was sent home because I am “deaf” and that it’s a safety issue.
I never claimed to be completely deaf. She told me that if I have documentation from a doctor we can fight it because of equal opportunity employment and all that. I do have an audiogram from my doctor. It’s from 2014 and in my maiden name though.
I feel like I’ve been discriminated against. I could fight it but I don’t want to go back to a company like that. I can’t stop crying because every time I try to do things the right way it fails. I feel like a failure.
Sorry for venting but thank you if you’ve gotten this far.