Worker Fired For 'Performance Issues' Tells Boss It Was Due To Her Autism — ‘I’m Gonna Call My Dad So He Can Explain It’
“I was going into meltdown mode and needed someone to speak for me that knew my disability.”
Olena Rudo / Shutterstock.com Navigating the corporate landscape and overbearing 9 to 5s is difficult enough for most employees, let alone those also struggling to advocate for their disability accommodations with misguided employers.
It’s exactly the situation TikTok creator Sami Harris got candid about struggling with over the past few months in her new job—which she was ultimately fired from for “performance issues.” In a since-deleted exchange with her HR department, the accommodations “they’d promised” were never instated, making her work life and workload completely unmanageable.
“I know this sounds bizarre, but I’m going to call my father,” she said on the call. “I know that probably sounds crazy because you guys clearly have no idea about disabilities, but I need someone else to explain right now.”
An autistic worker was fired for ‘performance issues’ despite her employer failing to provide her with reasonable accommodations and support.
“You haven’t accommodated anything that I’ve asked for,” she said at the beginning of her recorded meeting. I understand that this [firing decision] is irreversible. I’m not trying to reverse this decision, but I have questions. If I haven’t submitted my [formal] accommodations yet, how could you have honored them?”
As her caption indicated, her employer had forced her to “see a doctor” to validate her requested accommodations before submitting them, but before she was able to make her doctor’s appointment, they fired her.
“I was supposed to go to my doctor on Monday. They knew this and said that it was okay,” Harris added. While they continued to reframe the conversation on her “performance issues” as the reason for her termination, Harris couldn't help but continue to wonder if they were truly firing her as a result of being autistic. “They’re just completely devoid of any human empathy.”
During her exit interview, she told her boss she needed to ‘call her father’ to help advocate for her — ‘He knows my disability.’
As her HR representatives continued to deflect any mention of accommodations and her disability, she ultimately decided to call her father. With the stressful nature of the call and the complete disregard of her experience, she needed someone to advocate on her behalf.
She felt that her father could do that for her.
Fizkes / Shutterstock.com
“I haven’t gotten any answers, other than corporate jargon, for why you weren’t able to accommodate my disability,” Harris said at the end of the call. “I’m not trying to debate. I’m not trying to reverse the decision … I’m just trying to understand.”
While they refused to speak with her father and continued trying to end the call, Harris was forced to take the conversation offline. “This is so disheartening and awful,” one commenter wrote. “Definitely get your lawyers involved … sue them and get your compensation.”
Many corporate employers perpetuate toxic workplaces for their disabled workers, including failing to provide accommodations and support.
While it’s an unfortunate reality in the corporate world, almost a quarter of disabled employees report being both discriminated against and unsupported in their workplaces.
From struggling to get accommodations to battling environmental fear to facing barriers of inaccessibility in their jobs, these disabled colleagues often fall through the cracks in their corporate careers.
While on the surface, many companies preach their alignment with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), in practice, they cultivate toxic spaces for their disabled employees stunting their growth and success.
“I’m tired of worker’s rights not being prioritized in this country,” creator @chaotic_philsopher on TikTok lamented. “And when we’re entitled to suggesting it should be different … I don’t think so!”
Crafting a comfortable livelihood and workplace environment isn’t easy for anyone, but everyone should have an equitable playing field. Whether that means making hybrid working environments more abundant, prioritizing accommodations, or simply being supportive of unique employees’ needs — it’s a shift in the corporate culture that’s long overdue.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories.