The Mess that Blubbered

So I’m still on a half dose of anti-depressants (remember I’m trying to change my meds) so pretty much anything sets me off. You might also remember that I’m on Sickness Benefits while I wait and pray for Disability?

Well, today was payday (supposedly!) yet I still have only 11 cents in my account. I haven’t received any notifications (letters/SMS/emails) that my payments were stopped, nor that there was a problem. I have, however, got a mass of bills that I need to make a start on.

I can’t contact Centrelink because it’s outside business hours – it was outside business hours when I discovered this mess, but it has taken me 3 and a half hours to pull myself together to even write about it. And I had to write about it because I am SO mad and SO upset that if I don’t let it out, I may never sleep. I have been a blubbering mess the whole time. (And why doesn’t Google have any images for ‘blubbering mess’?)

It seems that I have a problem with this Government department regularly every three weeks. This does NOT make it easier to deal with – if I performed any job that I have had over the years in this half-hearted manner, I would have been fired!

If I’m lucky, they will be able to fix the problem immediately. (This is called customer service – how about they don’t make a mistake to begin with?) But immediately for them is two or three days away. Mind you, at least it will be a relief that it is not a major problem. Then I know that they will ask me is if I am in dire need? If I am, they will ask me to go into the nearest office – but how am I to do this with only 11 cents in my bank account?

If there is a problem – and I have no idea what that could be as nothing has changed since my last payment two weeks ago – I have no idea what I will need to do. And therein lies the problem. I HATE having no control over what is happening to me!

$95 000 settlement award against Colorado Children’s Hospital

Cecilia McMurray applied for a staff assistant position with Colorado Children’s Healthcare Access Program in Pediatric Medicine. Three interviews later, McMurray was offered the position of Staff Assistant II, contingent upon the successful completion of a pre-employment health screen. After a medical exam arranged by Children’s, the hospital withdrew its offer of employment to McMurray.

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora.

Denying a job to an applicant because of a disability violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC filed suit in US District Court for the District of Colorado (EEOC v. Children’s Hospital Colorado, Case No. 11-cv-02104-REB-CBS) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

Children’s Hospital Colorado will pay $95,000 to Cecilia McMurray, and furnish other relief, to resolve this case. The hospital entered into a consent decree and agreed to ensure all employees involved in the hiring process are trained on ADA requirements. Children’s Hospital Colorado will also report to the EEOC each time a person is denied hire due to a medical screen during the decree’s duration.

“The ADA is a complicated statute, and an employer’s obligations with respect to post-offer medical exams are particularly complex,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Mary Jo O’Neill. “Employers need to be very careful when they utilise pre-employment health screens. We applaud Children’s Hospital for taking steps to improve its hiring process to ensure that employees with disabilities are not excluded from employment.”

EEOC Denver Field Office Director Nancy Sienko added, “It is important that employers give applicants with disabilities a fair shake and make employment decisions based on facts and not myths, fears or stereotypes. We commend Children’s for ensuring its hiring decisions comply with the ADA.”

It’s a pity the hospital only took these ‘commendable’ steps after being filed with a lawsuit!

Chronic Comic 68