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[finallyfullprof]

I know most of you are not lawyers, but some of you may have more experience in this area than I and thus could offer some advice.  I teach in a multi-college cc.  If one wants to transfer, one must go through the application process and compete with all other applicants. (Tenure and rank transfer if one gets the job.)  An opportunity presented itself, and the job description indicated I would be perfect for the position. I applied and received an interview. The disability I have is not readily apparent, but I did volunteer the information at the interview. My disability is documented with my cc.

I received a second interview, and at that interview I spoke at greater length about my disability and the type of accommodations I would need.  The high-level administrator conducting the interview said it would not be a problem and that all would be taken care of. This person offered me the job, which I accepted.

The next day, I received an angry phone call from the person who would have been my new chairperson. This person was very upset about the need for accommodations and was not willing to work with me.  I told the chairperson about the specific offers I was made. This person all but accused me of lying, so I stated that a conversation needed to take place with the administrator in order to get everything straight.  About an hour later, I received a call from the administrator rescinding the offer of accommodations in Administratorese: "I'm so sorry if I gave you the impression that...."  The two of us brainstormed to find alternate ways of providing accommodations for me. I was told to call the chairperson back and attempt to devise a schedule that would work. I did so, but the chairperson was not available and never returned my call.

I was later told that the problem was being worked on at higher levels of administration and someone would get back to me. We reached a point where it was one week before we were due to report for in-service work, yet no one had contacted me concerning a class schedule or any type of accommodations. I finally called the administrator back to decline the job offer, which I believe was the plan in stalling me all along.

I wanted to file a complaint right away but held off doing so until the end of last fall because my spouse had been hired as a lateral transfer at the college and was up for tenure. I was very concerned about retaliation, which has happened in my cc in the past.  I was in contact with human resources the whole time so that they were aware of the incident. Once my spouse's tenure packet cleared the committee at the end of the term, I filed the formal complaint. The only remedies I requested were truth in the job description, better training for those involved in the hiring process, and formal apologies from those directly involved in my mistreatment.

It has now been over a year since all this happened. I have received no response to my complaint despite multiple attempts to follow up with the HR person in charge of my case. The most recent communication indicated that it had been "handled at a level higher than this department," but I know that a full investigation was not conducted. I gave names of witnesses, none of whom have ever been contacted.  No one ever asked me any further questions either. 

My question is what to do at this point.  Employees in similar situations in the past have sued my cc, but I did not want to do that. I certainly don't want a job at the other college given the way I was treated and the fact that my supervisor would be one of the worst offenders.  Do I go over my HR rep's head and try to get more information? Should I consult a lawyer? Any other ideas?

[sockgumbee]

I think you should consult a lawyer.

FWIW, based on what you've said here, your actions would make it difficult to be taken seriously if you filed a complaint. First of all, declining the offer. Second the lag in time.

While I don't want to discourage you to do what makes sense to you (and of course the politics you describe concerning your husband's job made acting in a more expedient way difficult) this is the kind of thing I would drop. There seems little to gain and it seems like no one is paying attention anyway. If you had not declined the offer and then they made it impossible for you to work, since that seemed the way things were going, you'd be in a very strong place to file a complaint and get some kind of satisfaction. Lots of people have had similar crappy job situations--verbal promise that is rescinded or changed--so having a disability would not make this special. Not that I am trying to down pay that. I'm just trying to put your experience in a wider perspective that an administrator/judge might.

All the same I am sorry you had this experience. I am dismayed at the weird attitudes some people have about accommodations and disabilities in general. Sometimes it's a weird stupid world.

[helpful]

What, in general, was/is the disability, and what in general was/is the accommodations that were so difficult to offer? This would help us help you. Right now it is pretty vague to me.

[comp_queen]

Is there a way you can get this on record without pursuing legal action?  For example, file a formal complaint against the person/people who violated both your college's policy and federal law (that's what happened here, people, as we can tell from even a vague description). 

Is there a procedure in your system whereby you could just file the complaint but not ask for any further action, and then you and your spouse don't have to worry anymore about retaliation, but a record of what those folks did is ALWAYS part of their file?

Given the legal as well as HR issues of flouting ADA, is there a state board/agency with which you could also file a complaint?

[_touchedbyanoodle_]

Contact ADA. At the very least, you can likely get advice from a lawyer who specializes in such incidents.

[sockgumbee]

I agree with contacting a lawyer that is familiar with ADA compliance. It would be difficult to contact the ADA since it's short for Americans with Disabilities Act. I think Touch by a Noodle means the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that handles various kinds of discrimination.
http://www.eeoc.gov/

here's the gov's website on disabilities
http://www.disabilityinfo.gov

The reason why I was so pessimistic in my earlier post is that it's quite hard to prove discrimination of any kind. You have to show a pattern of behavior and/or particular egregious behavior. However, I could be wrong and you might get comfort talking to someone about your situation.

Good luck.

[finallyfullprof]

What, in general, was/is the disability, and what in general was/is the accommodations that were so difficult to offer? This would help us help you. Right now it is pretty vague to me.

My particular type of disability is fairly rare, so identifying it would put me closer to being "outed" than I feel comfortable with given that I don't know who is reading the fora.  I will tell you this:  I require a common type of technology in order to be able to teach my courses.  This technology is available and used at the vast majority of colleges and universities, including every other college at my cc. The accommodations I was promised included use of this technology in full or partial use of it coupled with a partial administrative course release for other service duties to the college. When the offer of accommodations was rescinded, I was given an alternative of using a different type of technology that would have been difficult on me physically but still enabled me to do an adequate job. That's where things stood when they stalled me.

Is there a way you can get this on record without pursuing legal action?  For example, file a formal complaint against the person/people who violated both your college's policy and federal law (that's what happened here, people, as we can tell from even a vague description). 

Is there a procedure in your system whereby you could just file the complaint but not ask for any further action, and then you and your spouse don't have to worry anymore about retaliation, but a record of what those folks did is ALWAYS part of their file?

Given the legal as well as HR issues of flouting ADA, is there a state board/agency with which you could also file a complaint?

I've already filed a formal complaint and named the specific individuals who did this. My spouse has tenure now but still has two more potential promotions. I have no fear of retaliation as I've gone as far as I can in rank and my current department supports me in full.  They offer me this accommodation and have ever since I became disabled a few years ago. It has been documented at my campus since the disability occurred.  We had done it informally but I had actually started the process of getting it certified with the central office before I applied for the other position.

I need to look into the state angle.  I really want some closure.  I don't want anyone else ever to have to go through this.  There are more details to this that I haven't shared (obviously), but it was by far one of the most hurtful, degrading experiences I have been through. I have a stellar teaching, research, and service record with my college with excellent evaluations, and I was treated as if I were incapable of doing my job because a chairperson did not want to be bothered with making any kind of alternative arrangements.

[mdwlark]

You have to decide which issues are worth fighting because the price you pay is always high, but sometimes you feel like things have to be fought for the principle of it.  I hope you will weigh the price to be paid, but It sounds like you have already made that decision.   A letter from a lawyer will usually bring an end to this kind of impasse, especially when all you want is an acknowledgment and apology.  Lawyers can cut through the crap and get things done faster, and you wouldn't necessarily have to file a suit.   A lawyer can also advise you on fine points of the law like how your withdrawal of your application and your delayed filing affects the situation (if it does) and  specifically what laws have been violated.   I think you either need to hire a lawyer or let the thing drop, because you are not getting very far on your own.  They seem to think they can wear you out and make you go away.   

[patchouli]

I agree that you should contact a lawyer or the sources Theothergumbee recommended.  It might be too late or not, and that depends on a few things that only a lawyer could tell you for sure.

Beware of the administrative/complaint process that takes very long to get a response to; it's a common technique to avoid accountability.  Your file may have already found its home: quietly put away, where no one will see it or have to deal with it. 

You might also check with your union, too.

[voxprincipalis]

While I don't want to discourage you to do what makes sense to you (and of course the politics you describe concerning your husband's job made acting in a more expedient way difficult) this is the kind of thing I would drop.

Why do you assume that OP is a woman? OP did not use any gender-specific language. This strikes me as vaguely sexist.

VP

[finallyfullprof]

I may be screwed from a legal standpoint. In my misplaced belief that my school would handle this fairly, apparently I'm well past the deadline for filing anything with the EEOC. I had at most 300 days, and we are looking at close to 400 now.  I think the attorney consultation may be the best bet at this point to see if I'm missing something. I appreciate the links.