Scared for my son's future - **UPDATE Page 3 Post 32

[EllenFrasier]

Background: My son is twenty years old and is learning disabled. He graduated from high school, went to culinary training school and completed an unpaid internship. During high school and culinary school, he had a couple of part-time jobs that did not work out. One was a grocery store and one was at Pizza Hut. He left the grocery store to work at Pizza Hut because he wanted to work in the food industry. The manager at Pizza Hut turned out to be a real jerk and was swearing at him and yelling at him etc. and basically forced him to quit.

He graduated from the culinary training school a year ago and has been looking for a job since. He had a job coach with the culinary school, but she did not do her job very well. No communication unless initiated by him, and the only possible jobs she found for him were in another city. Now he has a job coach from the Center for the Disabled who is a great guy. He believes in my son which I think helps.

This new job coach helped him find a job at IHOP. The manager agreed that he could start out busing tables, but he was interested in teaching him the restaurant business and working his way up to the kitchen. The manager said he was doing well, the waitresses said he was doing a good job, etc. A couple weeks have gone by and he went there to get his schedule yesterday and he is not on the schedule - at all. He spoke to the manager who said he was calling his job coach because there was more involved in the position then he thought. So my son was in tears yesterday, and so was I. They had a meeting with the manager this morning, and the manager would not tell the job coach any specific things my son was doing wrong or not doing right! How can you fire someone without saying why? He also already hired another person, because as they were sitting there they heard one of the waitresses say "there's the new guy". The manager told my son and the job coach that it was just business, nothing personal. He told the job coach that he could fire anybody he wanted, that it was business and that's how it's done.

So they left it that my son is going back on Friday with his job coach so the job coach can shadow him as he does his job. I'm not really sure why - but at least the coach can see how my son does his job. And I hope it makes the manager there really uncomfortable. My Dh is irate that this has happened. He seems to think there are laws about firing people because of a disability, but I don't know if that is so.

Now I am getting really concerned that my son may not be able to keep a job. What if something happens to us? What will happen to him?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Did you ever go up there and observe your son in action? I guess I am surprised the job coach did not do that until now.

Food service is brutal and you are going to have to go thru a lot of places until he finds a match.

Don't give up hope, he has to continue to go for it until he finds a fit.

 

[LisaR]

You don't say what your son's LD is (not that you have to). For my son and his LD, chaos is not a good thing. He needs things orderly, tightly scheduled and quieter. He could never work in a restaurant like iHop where it is noisy and busy. Does your son have a hard time staying on task? If he is busing one table and someone yells out to him to get moving and bus another table, will that throw him off? Maybe he just needs to find a more conducive work environment that would be better suited towards his needs?

 

[Cindy B]

You may want to try Applebee's or ChickFilA . A local high school has a school to work program for learning disabled students and they are wonderful (at least our locations are) to the kids.

 

[DizBelle]

An employer is only required to make reasonable accommodations for an employee with disabilities. If the accommodations required are unreasonable (i.e. you didn't say what his disability was or what accommodations he would need but I would think it unreasonable to allow him twice as long to do the job as that could adversely affect the buisness' ability to make money).

I think it just may take a bit more time and effort to find a match than it would for those without any disabilities.

 

[LMC]

I have these same concerns for my DS too. While we HOPE he will get a HS diploma, him actually being able to keep a job will be another story. As suggested try Chik fil A or I've been told Walgreens is good. I know a drug store is not in the food service but it would give him some work experience and how to handle things. You could try the cafeterias at a hospital, local college, or even the local school system. That would be great if he could get a job at a local public school; real good health insurance! I know that people should be more tolerant but in reality I know that if they can hire someone other than my child to do the job more efficiently then they will and that will be hard to accept when it happens. I hope they can find something for him, it just needs to be the right fit and then he will be happy.

 

[Cindy B]

One more thing.. don't forget to try school cafeterias, and supermarkets.
wegmans and Shoprite has a few students that do help with inventory and setup. I have also seen job coaches at Target, Goodwill, Home depot.

I was a job coach in a former life and I enjoyed it. Sorry to hear that you are having problems

 

[NotUrsula]

You might see if there are any hotel kitchens that participate in the jobs program; the bigger the hotel the better. Banquet work is probably the best thing for someone who needs more structure in the beginning, because the menu is set and it's an assembly line. You do need to be able to work fast, but there are normally no last minute changes and not much to remember -- IME the courses and plating setup are written down and posted over the prep stations.

 

[FireDancer]

It is impossible to come to any good conclusion with only the info in the OP. Some employees just don't fit certain businesses or even just certain bosses. An employee that needs micromanaged isn't going to be a good fit in a place that delegates responsibility while a boss who needs to be in control may rather have a person like that.

I want people who are self starters and can solve problems without coming to me every time a problem presents itself. At the same time I used to work for someone that wanted to know every single thing that was done because they needed to feel in control.

Arguments can be made for the effectiveness of both but the tail isn't going to wag the dog if the two don't fit.

I wouldn't give up hope yet. From what I have heard about the restaurant industry there aren't a lot of people that go right from culinary school to Iron Chef.

 

[LukenDC]

The manager is practicing poor business skills and opening IHOP to liablity by not giving a reason for the termination. Yes, at-will employers can terminate an employee at any time for any reason or no reason at all, but must tread especially carefully when dealing with someone who is in a protected class. As someone with a disability, your son is a member of a protected class. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to make a good faith effort to find a reasonable accommodation that will enable an otherwise qualified employee to perform a job. By withholding information about job performance and shortcomings, the manager is not engaging in a good faith effort.

Allowing the job coach to shadow the employee and give feedback is a form of reasonable accommodation. The manager is still not off the hook, however, because he will need to engage your son in a dialogue to determine if a reasonable accommodation is possible. Your son must also request accommodation and be an active part of the discussion. If the manager still terminates your son and does not give a reason or engage in a good faith effort to find a reasonable accommodation, then you may have cause to file a discrimination complaint.

 

[Mkrop]

I agree with others maybe IHOP and/or this manager are not a good fit for your son. This could happen regardless of his disability. Dont give up hope When he does find a new job, have the job coach shadow more early in the process so they can work early and quickly to resolve any issues.

Good Luck!

 

[golfgal]

The answer to your question about what happens if you are not around, you plan for that. You need to set up a supplemental needs trust and FUND the trust with either your investment accounts or live insurance. You also need to check with your county to see what support services are available to your son. If you don't have any luck there, look up the ARC chapter in your area for help.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

An employer is only required to make reasonable accommodations for an employee with disabilities. If the accommodations required are unreasonable (i.e. you didn't say what his disability was or what accommodations he would need but I would think it unreasonable to allow him twice as long to do the job as that could adversely affect the buisness' ability to make money).

I think it just may take a bit more time and effort to find a match than it would for those without any disabilities.

Unless there was a specific safety issue or something, giving feedback to an employee, and communicating changes in responsibilities with someone's job coach would definitely be considered a "reasonable accommodation". If the issue was something specific and unexcusable, then I think the OP's son should be told.

OP, I think your DH is correct.

 

[tnmt]

How about checking into Soc Security Disability for your son? That way he has a steady check coming in each month, insurance, and then he could possibly volunteer at different places each week just so that he doesn't get bored sitting at home all the time.

 

[Handbag Lady]

Someone else here mentioned grocery stores and our local Ralph's employs many people of all walks of life.

There is one really nice fellow who has the job of greeter. He directs people where to go if asked and helps unstick the shopping carts. This seems way ahead of your son's skill set (I wouldn't expect this person to say, slice the deli meat) but at least if they can gainfully employ and support this person, there is a lot of hope for your son.

Also, I don't have a learning disability but it took me several jobs to find exactly a good fit. Maybe your son is dealing with this section of life just as the rest of us?

 

[eliza61]

Actually I wanted to add that this may have absolutely nothing to do with your son being learning disabled. My niece was let go from Bertuccis without so much as a "by your leave". She was on the waitstaff for about 7 months, came in one day and the manager said they had to cut back on hours so "hasta luego baby".

My son who is an Asperger kid and 19 is in college and finally got a permanent part time position working at AMC movies. Now he's not interested in that but after a long year of searching it's a great fit for his first time job. He too went through getting jobs and being let go after 5 days.

Hang in there. Hugs to your family

P.S. also if he's like my son, I don't expect the "normal" milestones. He's just very different than the normal 19 year old and will not emotionally develop like his peers. I wouldn't freak out about his future yet.

 

[Ciao Mickey]

The manager is practicing poor business skills and opening IHOP to liablity by not giving a reason for the termination. Yes, at-will employers can terminate an employee at any time for any reason or no reason at all, but must tread especially carefully when dealing with someone who is in a protected class. As someone with a disability, your son is a member of a protected class. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to make a good faith effort to find a reasonable accommodation that will enable an otherwise qualified employee to perform a job. By withholding information about job performance and shortcomings, the manager is not engaging in a good faith effort.

Allowing the job coach to shadow the employee and give feedback is a form of reasonable accommodation. The manager is still not off the hook, however, because he will need to engage your son in a dialogue to determine if a reasonable accommodation is possible. Your son must also request accommodation and be an active part of the discussion. If the manager still terminates your son and does not give a reason or engage in a good faith effort to find a reasonable accommodation, then you may have cause to file a discrimination complaint.

If this is true, then a business owner would be crazy to hire a person with any type of disability.

I am sorry, but I think it's absurd that if you are a non-disabled person, and you don't work out in the job, you can be shown the door--no questions asked. But if you are disabled, an employer will have to jump through hoops and open himself up to lawsuits to get rid of a person that doesn't work out in that same position.

As Crazy Eddie used to say "INSANE."

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

I work as a Rehabilitation Counselor for my state's Dept of Rehabilitative Services (every state has one but may be called by a different name). I was also a Job Coach once upon a time.

Is your state an at-will state? Virginia is. They can fire anyone at anytime for any reason as long as it is not against one of the federally protected classes. I've had many employers say it's not working out. They can do that. As long as they don't say it's because of the person's disability.

As for your son's job coach...how long was he working with your son on the job? He should be there with him all of the time when he first starts working and then fades away. It doens't sound like he even did that. I've been in my fair share of kitchens and they are usually the most accomodating when it comes to working with job coaches.

It could just be this employer is a jerk. It happens. You don't want your son working with a jerk employer. Good luck to you!

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

How about checking into Soc Security Disability for your son? That way he has a steady check coming in each month, insurance, and then he could possibly volunteer at different places each week just so that he doesn't get bored sitting at home all the time.

Just an FYI, disability is extremely difficult to get. The average person gets denied 3 times on average.

 

[FireDancer]

How about checking into Soc Security Disability for your son? That way he has a steady check coming in each month, insurance, and then he could possibly volunteer at different places each week just so that he doesn't get bored sitting at home all the time.

Perhaps jumping from one lost job to SS is a bit premature.