Disclaimer: not lived in the US in over 10 years
I’m Deaf and used to rely on interpreters. The ADA improved quality of life immensely, as I only needed to inform doctors, schools, and employers when I needed one, and they would provide instead of the burden being on me, the person who didnt ask to be Deaf. My right to an interpreter during interviews, performance reviews, and meetings was violated several times. After a few reports, that got resolved.
Now in The Netherlands? Thats another story, we desperately need an equivalent of the ADA here. The discrimination is DISGUSTING.
Wow, I did not expect that ending. But somehow, I’m not terribly surprised.
Netherlands doesn’t have workplace discrimination laws?
From my understanding, we do, to an extent (as in no one did anything about it) and up until this year no one cared enough to actually do something about it besides provide lip service. 1 January was when we got a new website and phone number to actually report things: https://discriminatie.nl The wonderful thing about that is, I can report past discrimination. Due to my Deafness, the recruiters are forced to communicate with me through email. I’m a data hoarder, which means, I’ve got receipts, bitch! lol sorry got excited there… but seriously, I’ve got quite a few emails turning me down for work, even at McDonald’s.
The McDonald’s one was the most infuriating one, as I worked at one for 3 years before moving to this city; my application was several months after I had moved. I had a good recommendation from my previous managers, and the new location still insisted on gatekeeping with “you’re Deaf, how can you do this job then?” before any interview took place.
Some sources for the discrimination claims are linked below. I’ve translated the following titles word for word, with more correct translation in parentheses (articles are in Dutch, the site should work in any decent translator)
Women, foreigner, or limited (disabled)? Then often discrimination feelings at work:
https://www.nu.nl/economie/6288886/vrouw-buitenlander-of-beperking-dan-vaker-discriminatiegevoelens-op-werk.htmlState’s commission: racism and discrimination work everywhere through (throughout everywhere)
https://nos.nl/artikel/2501700-staatscommissie-racisme-en-discriminatie-werken-overal-doorIn the same vein, in English - they’re all from the same site, as I’m subscribed via RSS:
https://nltimes.nl/2023/12/16/state-commission-discrimination-occurs-everywhere-netherlands
https://nltimes.nl/2023/11/09/fifth-workers-international-roots-experience-workplace-discrimination-nl
https://nltimes.nl/2023/10/30/structural-discrimination-racism-among-civil-servants-dutch-municipalities-studyThese are housing and racism (also English):
https://nltimes.nl/2023/09/07/housing-rental-agents-still-massively-cooperate-discrimination
https://www.iamexpat.nl/career/employment-news/how-to-deal-racism-workplaceThat’s just your everyday discrimination. I’m not going to bother to go into the recent elections and incoming policy changes that have left foreigners feeling quite unwelcome in this country.
Thank you for all this information! I’m grateful for the ADA but never realized how lucky we are to have it in the USA. May I ask what motivated you to move to the Netherlands?
A toxic and abusive family, and my partner (marriage) is Dutch. It was an easy decision!
This past year hasn’t been easy and it was the first time I felt any regrets and a desire to return.
In school, yes.
Before laptops in every classroom was a thing, I was struggling heavily with hand written assignments.
I’m dysgraphic. Where dyslexia fucks with input to the brain, dysgraphia fucks with output. Hand writing is the most noticed, but affects typing and speech too. Hitting backspace to fix a word is a lot less consuming than trying to fix mistakes in pen.
So I got approval to use a laptop. Thankfully my family had the means to provide one.
Wouldn’t you know it, my grades improved dramatically when the teachers could actually read what I had written.
Yes, fill out the form from HR, had my therapist send an additional note providing justification, and was able to go full-time remote! Though then they stripped me of it, and I had to do it all over again, but now I’m back remote and at least for the time being, helps immensely.
What is the reasonable accommodation you’re requesting?
Nothing. I’m just curious what people’s experiences have been.
We could fill out a form to choose hybrid (default) or go full-remote but had to provide justification. I didn’t cite the ADA but I did justify my preference for full-remote by stating I had ADHD and I could more easily manage my focus by staying at home.
It was approved but I don’t know how much my justification mattered.
I’m not sure if this is anywhere close to what you’re wanting but figured I’d toss it in.
Ngl I didnt realize working from home was one of the accomodations I could ask for. That said… its kind of hard to do almost any job in my field from home (chemist)
