Hire Our Kids, But Really HIRE Them

I've been writing now and then about problems my kids have had getting jobs, and right at the moment, we're in a good place. They're still only working part-time, but they're working, and I'm grateful to their employers for apparently, at least at the moment, giving them a chance to learn and figure things out and take direction and keep working.

That shouldn't be a lot to expect, but we've also had an additional experience with what I'm calling "Bad Faith Disability Hiring," in which a job is briefly given and then snatched back when the employer realizes, apparently, that the good feeling you get from giving a kid with a disability a chance does not come with a magic wand that makes your new employee immediately 100 percent able to do whatever you want without any thought or planning or patience on your end.

I'm talking about situations where the employer in question knew the new hire had a disability, went through all the hiring paperwork and information gathering and payroll, and then after one or two or three days, turned around and said, "You're not what we're looking for." Or, "This job is not for you." Or, "We hired too many people. We'll call you when we need you." Not.

I'd believe that I was just over-believing in my kids and they're simply not capable, and yet ... there are employers who have made it work. There are people who tell me my kids are good workers. And I don't see how hiring someone and immediately taking the job away or failing to develop an employee in the hope that they'll get the hint and go away or feeling so bad about correcting someone's mistakes that you'd rather just quietly make a list and then use it to fire them is any kind of effective management conduct.

I want so strongly to advocate for hiring kids with disabilities, giving them a chance, and taking a chance on them. I believe there's a whole potential workforce of young people who only need a little time and patience and planning for success to be loyal long-time employees. But for goodness sake, employers, if you don't mean it, don't do it. Not getting a job is painful, but getting one and losing it through no fault of your own is worse.