The official complaint!

Just got my copy, going to write it out but with parts redacted.

Dear Sir/Madam:

Re: Jeannie-Marie Anne Stewart v. [redacted]
Our File: [redacted]
The above-noted person has filed the enclosed complaint with our office. The substance of the complaint is as follows:

Jeannie-Marie Anne Stewart is a person with a disability that requires accommodations. She had been employed since September 11, 2010 as a server by the [redacted] in North Battleford , which is owned and operated by [redacted] Saskatchewan Ltd. She said that on September 10, 2010 she went to this restaurant to apply for a job and that she was hired on the spot by the person whom she believed to be the owner. She said that she did not believe the owner noticed during this interview that one of her arms had been amputated at the elbow. She said that she started work the next day and that part way into her shift the owner noticed her arm. Ms. Stewart said that he expressed negativity when he asked her why she had not told him. She said that she responded that she wanted a chance to prove that she could do the job. Ms. Stewart believes her abilities were being tested throughout the remaining of her shift. She said that she succeeded in her duties. The owner told her at the end of her shift that she did a good job and he also agreed that he would not have hired her had he known about her arm. Ms. Stewart said that she was not scheduled for any further shifts and when she asked why, on or about September 14, 2010 the owner told her that "we have decided to try out other people because of your arm". Ms. Stewart believes that her employer discriminated against her on the basis of her disability by failing to reasonably accommodate her and by refusing to continue to employ her, contrary to Section 16 of The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code.

Please note we have made no determination on these allegations..

We would appreciate if you would now respond to the complaint. Your written response will be used for investigation purposes and may be shared with the complainant during the course of an investigation. I am enclosing the form we provide for this purpose. In particular, it would be helpful if you could send us the following:

• A detailed response to the complaint.
• A detailed explanation of why Ms. Stewart's employment was terminated.
• A list of the duties required for the position of server.
• A list of all employees working at the [redacted] on September 11, 2010 with contact information, if available.
• A copy of Ms. Stewart's Record Of Employment.
• A list of all accommodations provided to Ms. Stewart in this workplace.
• Copies of all company policies touching on the issue of accommodating employees with disabilities.
• Any other documents that might be relevant to this complaint.

Our next course of action will be to pass the file to a mediator/facilitator to see if the parties are open to discussing a resolution to the complaint. If that fails the matter will be investigated.

We look forward to your prompt response. May we hear from you within the next two weeks? Thank you.
Sincerely,

[redacted]
Intake Consultant

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld PIN 303A5430

New job! And other stuff you need to know (maybe)

Yes! It is true! I have a job! Dispatching nights at the local taxi company. I. Love. It. I love the hours because I still get to hang with my kids all day (hang out, not hang to the roof as tempting as that seems some days), I wear what I want, full benifits too. And so far the night drivers are awesome. One can never have too many iced caps from Tim Hortons and they ensure I get them. Only downside so far, that place I hate, you know the one I'm going after for discrimination? Yeah, they use us for deliveries all the time. Lucky for me the calls are short.

Speaking of which, they were supposed to be served this week and I am to get a copy. Nothing yet *sigh* I know, I know, I see you shiver with..... Anticipation. I want updates too, believe me!


Sad news of the last few weeks, Lincoln's grandma passed away. However, she was 82 and kicked ass her whole life! She had a good ride. Also, I love his family at funerals, sounds odd but hear me out. They cry obviously but they also celebrate that persons life and the get togethers are always great. Even when the reason to get together sucks, the times are good. Lincoln's brother stayed here for a few days which was awesome. I know Lincoln misses him and my kids loved having uncle schnicky around.


Hmmmm I think that is all for now...
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld PIN 303A5430

Anyone wanna buy some makeup?

Seriously. I sell Mary Kay....

We got hit with some crappy news this morning and need like 8 grand real fast.... We thought we were on the TIPS program for our property taxes (paid with the mortgage). We thought wrong. The city never sent us anything regarding arrears, no demands for payment etc. All of a sudden my husband noticed the mortgage had disappeared from his online banking, he called the bank and was given a number to call. He finally talked to them this morning to hear "wait for the letter from the lawyer". Great, thats exactly what we need. We cannot afford to be taken to court..... I'm done. I am so tired of the universe crapping on me. Really, it is never going to end it seems.

Please, help me sell 3000 eyeshadows, that should cover it.....

http://www.marykay.ca/jeanniemarie

Why should you hire me?

If you found my blog through my cyber begging effort, welcome :)

If you are a potential employer wondering why you should give me a shot, let me tell you....

• I'm dependable, very rarely do I call in sick to work, never once have I called in on a weekend with the "flu". I have to be near death (or have an absolute family emergency) before I'll call in.
• I'm self directed, but I also work well with others. Alone or on a team, I do what needs to be done.
• I learn quickly, I'm not afraid to ask questions about something I don't understand. I would sooner ask than assume and make an error.
• I'm friendly.
• I'm resourceful
• I love working with the public.
• I care about the job I do.

That is the short list. I have multiple references available.

Ain't too proud to (cyber) beg!

I was laid off after Movie Gallery closed and have not found successful employment since. I did find a job at a restaurant but was fired for having one arm, even after I proved I could handle the job. Our current finances are a mess and without decent employment we have no hope in hades of fixing our situation. I would like something above minimum wage however, I am willing to try almost anything at the moment. I have sent out my resume numerous times via saskjobs.com as well as "pounding the pavement" so to speak. I type 50+ words per minute, have office experience as well as plenty of retail experience. Maybe you do not need a full-time office employee but need some freelance office type jobs done? Anything will help me right now. Our financial situation has gotten pretty severe (we could lose our house, 2 small children) Please, if there is anything you think I might be able to do for you email me and I can send my resume. I am not too proud to beg for a job....

dvinerite@gmail.com

Job hunt continues...

As some of you know, I work as a casual slot attendant at the Gold Eagle Casino here in North Battleford. I love it, however I do not get many hours. Many of the Food and Beverage servers on the floor told me I should apply in that dept because their casuals can get tons of hours, needless to say once a posting for the dept went up I applied. I had my interview last week and it went well. Last night I was on a quick break and my phone rang. I recognized the number as the casino and rightly assumed it was the F&B manager in regards to the job. I told her I was upstairs and she asked if I could pop by her office for a few minutes.


Excitedly I beelined to her office and sat down to chat. In the end, I declined the job. First off, the position was not for the gaming floor but for the GRC where functions are held. One of the perks of course is getting to check out the acts/bands etc that perform (such as Norm MacDonald last night) but one of the major drawbacks is the hours. Working a shift is dependent on functions. This time of year is busier (lots of Christmas functions etc) and the summer has quite a few wedding receptions, however the rest of the year can be slow. I would be moving from one dept with few hrs to another one with few hrs so not really gaining anything by it.

The second reason has to do with casino politics and red tape. I cannot really get into much detail because if it gets back to Lincoln I will be killed :) Basically, they see him advancing in that dept big time down the road. If we work in the same dept, neither of us can advance past the occasional supervisor shift. He is first in line for the apprenticeship (Red Seal) program, he would have started this semester but the ball was dropped by the old chef etc etc... You don't spend 60 K for someone to take the program and leave them as a line cook forever, if ya know what I mean. So down the road, I would have to move to another dept anyways (most likely, almost definitely). I may as well stay where I am and hope a full-time spot opens up.....

I was given a choice though which is nice, and though Lincoln and I discussed the potential conflict of interest, we never thought about it to the extent that Cori explained....

I left the chat feeling pretty bittersweet, yes I am kinda bummed but I am so proud of my husband. Through the casino's help he can and will pursue his dream of the Red Seal and he can take that anywhere later if he chooses to move on.....


Totally unrelated to most of this post, I was hit on by Norm MacDonald last night, if you consider him massaging my neck while I led him across the casino to the ATM being hit on.... He was a pretty nice guy though and really tall!

Stand up for what you believe, even if you're the only one standing.

My title comes from a poster I saw when I picked my son up from school today. Lately, I have worried that standing up would cause future employers to maybe think "This one might cause trouble if we don't hire her" etc... Valid point, if I were to go after every employer who denied me a job. I don't and I won't unless of course there is blatant discrimination towards me. I have been denied several jobs in my lifetime, some I know are because I'm not the right fit (usually sensed by me during the interview), some are because someone else is better qualified, and some are because of discrimination. Only 3 employers have been so disturbingly forthright though and of those 3 only 1 is going to see a consequence. Many times I have sensed the discrimination without it being spoken and I would never consider filing a complaint because though I feel it, I cannot prove it.


I knew full well what I would face by making my complaint so public (I have heard that at least half of North Battleford knows) yet I chose to accept the consequences (being labeled a troublemaker possibly) because it was and is the right thing to do. I would rather be seen as a pot stirrer who does something about discrimination as opposed to a silent sheep who cries to herself and ignores the problem.

This has not been easy for me, far from it. I am a roller coaster of emotions at any given time. One minute I'm ok, the next I'm angry, the next I'm self-pitying (which is the worst!). I am lucky to have wonderful support from friends and strangers alike. However, not everyone has been so supportive. The shock of my life came from someone in my own family, who actually was considerate enough to not say anything about the issue until I kinda pushed her opinion out of her. Initially I took her lack of response as not giving a crap about me, when in reality it was because she did not want to argue with me. She is of the opinion that disabled people cannot possibly work the same jobs as non disabled people (for the most part, especially restaurant jobs). What upset me the most is her insinuation that I was in the wrong for not advertising the fact I have one hand during the interview and that the way the employer handled it was right. Don't tell me that by even applying I was setting myself up for failure! Really? So what does she (or anyone who agrees with her for that matter) think I should do in life? Do you realize the limits you place on someone by saying that? Do you realize how badly you hurt someone by saying that?


And please, do not compare my 31 years missing an arm with your few weeks/months that you had to be one handed for whatever reason. Since birth I have been learning how to live one handed in a two handed world. It is such a different experience to injure yourself and learn to be one handed for awhile when all you know is two handedness from living with one handedness every single day of your life forever! Everytime I meet someone with a broken arm or what have you I hear "I don't know how you do this one handed all the time" well, you just answered yourself, all the time is the key. I know most people do not mean to be rude etc when they say that sort of thing and usually it is meant as a compliment, sadly it was recently used to insult me further.

So, to those of you who think I "shouldn't" apply in a restaurant (or any other job for that matter), or "shouldn't" take this as far as I can, maybe you "shouldn't" be so quick to judge. Maybe you SHOULD open your mind, learn something new, and stop assuming you know what my abilities are or aren't.....


My original intent for this post kind of derailed, obviously my conversation with that family member is affecting me greater then I let on at the time.... I doubt that person will see this and even if she does well I can only hope she understands a little bit more. If she is mad, I guess that is too bad. Be mad, because you made me feel an inch tall....