It’s no secret that people with disabilities deal with a lot of unfair treatment in many aspects of their lives. From not being able to access certain areas to dealing with unwarranted discrimination, it never ends. And even though there are acts that protect the disabled from discrimination in the workplace, it still happens at unsettling levels every year. A Pennsylvania artist is now bringing the situation to light the harsh reality. However, they do try to make light of the situation.
Posted by @gremlinwheels on TikTok, who shares a lot of content related to their wheelchair usage, in addition to performance and art. In the video, they state, “When you request accommodations for your disability at a new job: handing them a formal list of all my accommodations and their medical necessity as documented by multiple doctors”
Their workplace responds, astoundingly, “Well your disability actually is really inconvenient and stressful for the company.” They respond with, “It’s inconvenient for THE COMPANY???? I just told you my head is slowly crushing my brain stem and that’s inconvenient for THE COMPANY??”
To cap it off, they say, “It’s weird it happened twice, right?” As an American, this is a regular occurrence. And for Gremlinwheels, it’s a combination of being wheelchair-bound and chronic conditions including Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, POTS, and Cranial Cervical Instability. You can understand why they might be testing about a workplace being stingy. What’s the point of having worker’s insurance if you can’t use it to benefit yourself?
One commenter was disgusted by the way that OP was treated and shared her own similar story. She said, “This is literally why I quit my last job. Once I told them of my disabilities the comments went from ‘you’re doing great! Keep it up!’ to ‘you’ve made all these mistakes and need to do better,’ we’re going to watch you intensely for everything and make you feel bad about it.”
Another commented, “If the conversation isn’t, ‘let’s figure out how to make this work,’ then I don’t wanna hear it.” This is extremely true. Workers should always work together when there’s an imbalance. It may not always warrant the results you might be seeking and it may take time, but progress is sometimes painfully slow. And when you have a disability, that effect can be multiplied.
