[Jobs] Ideas for seminar at NFB convention

Tue Apr 8 10:08:28 CDT 2008

Hi Dick,
First, I think that perhaps as a strategy, a candidate could ask if a valid
form of I D is sufficient. Second, you might also want to get in touch with
the National Epilepsy Foundation about this, because people with Epilepsy
often are not permitted to drive either temporarily or permanently. They
may have a strategy for dealing with the problem that people who ar blind
can use. If this is a problem for them, too, you might be able to work
together with them to correct the situation. I think it would be helpful to
show that this affects multiple groups of people with disabilities if it
gets to the point where legislation may solve the problem.

Another thought comes to mind. I wonder if the ADA Restoration Act covers
this.

Thanks.

Jim

Thanks.

Jim

James D Homme, , Usability Engineering, Highmark Inc.,
james.homme at highmark.com, 412-544-1810

"it is only possible to live happily ever after on a day-to-day basis." --
Margaret Bonnano

Highmark internal only: Consider Usability Engineering On Your Next Project
or release. http://highwire.highmark.com/sites/iwov/hwt093/

             "Dick Davis"                                                  
             <ddavis at blindinc.                                             
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                                                                   Subject 
             04/08/2008 10:36          [Jobs] Ideas for seminar at NFB     
             AM                        convention                          

             Please respond to                                             
               "Jobs for the                                               
                  Blind"                                                   
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Hi guys,

You're a smart bunch so I thought I'd get your ideas on this.  The
Employment Committee of the NFB is going to put on a seminar at the
national
convention.  Below is the description of the agenda item that I sent to the
committee chair.  Since she agreed to the item, I have some questions for
all of you.  But read the description first:

New Challenges for Blind Jobseekers

The requirement that a person possess a valid driver's license is showing
up
in more and more job listings.  That would be reasonable if a position
provided transportation to others, such as bus driver, van driver, etc.
But
most of them don't have that as a primary job function.  Some blind job
applicants, seeing the requirement, have decided not to apply.

Why is there an upsurge in job descriptions with this requirement?  Is it
because the employee might need to use a company car from time to time?  Or
is it that a driver's license is a good form of identification?  Since no
blind person can get a valid driver's license, doesn't such a requirement
discriminate against blind people as a class?

What strategies should blind jobseekers use in dealing with this
requirement?  Has anyone dealt with it before?  Are there approaches that
have proven successful?  Should we try on the state or national level to
get
this requirement stricken, or reworded in a nondiscriminatory way?

Do any of you have answers to the above questions?  Do you have any
suggestions for the seminar, such as whether or not we should have a panel,
talk directly with the audience, or both?  If so, please e-mail them to me
at ddavis at blindinc.org, or call me at 612-872-0100 or 800-597-9558.  I
probably won't answer if I'm teaching a class, so leave me a message and
I'll get back to you.

Since I originally wrote this, I've had a call from one jobseeker that's
seen the following questions on a job application (I haven't seen the
application forms yet, so this is a rough paraphrase):

Do you have any physical or mental challenges?

If so, what reasonable accommodations do you need to do the job?

Yes, these really are actual questions.  The job seeker has seen them more
than once.  Yes, I know they're illegal, and I intend to do something about
them, but first, I wanted to know if any of you have seen them on job
applications too.  If so, I intend to add them to the agenda item and
discuss them.

You can see why I thought this would be a good agenda item.

Dick Davis

Assistant Director for Employment

BLIND, Inc.

ddavis at blindinc.org

612-872-0100

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