After a long hiatus of dealing with some family and professional life issues, I am back to ring in the New Year on the World Wide Web. And what better story to start with then this gem of a story regarding our dear old friends at the EEOC.
Their latest target? Employers who demand the rigorous education requirement of a GED or High School diploma.
"Maria Greco Danaher, a lawyer with the labor and employment law firm Ogletree Deakins, said the EEOC letter means that employers must determine whether job applicants whose learning disabilities kept them from obtaining diplomas can perform the essential job functions, with or without reasonable accommodation. She said the development is “worthy of notice” for employers".
Translation- Looking at someone other than a high school drop out will result in legal action against the employer. Why? Because suddenly everyone seems to have a learning disability. Let us look at this from a legal perspective. How would the employer know about the particular learning disabilities of the applicant? How would the employer know that the learning disability prevented the applicant from obtaining a diploma?
And let us not forget that once guidelines such as this are put into place, employers will do what they can to avoid being sued. There is too much money and too many complications with a drawn out lawsuit on a small business.
And once again, we seek to strive for equality, by reaching for depths below us.
