[nagdu] What I plan to say to my boss tomorrow...

[Michael Hingson]

Hi Daryl et al,

Good thoughts Daryl. Here is my best advice to add to what you have written.

You do not want to appear arrogant nor unreasonable. Having said that it is
your right under the ADA to be accompanied by a guide dog. I suppose you can
think of it as a "reasonable accommodation" on the part of your boss and the
company to permit your guide to be with you, but I would accept no less than
that concept. The law is clear.

At the same time you do need to evaluate when and where you might wish to
leave your pup at your desk. Fear of dogs and allergies do not trump your
right to have your guide dog with you. If your boss or the head of the
company thinks that they do then they are, by definition, valuing other
employees over you. This is a no no under any standard. Jenny has the right
to be with you and if that is a problem for "Hannah" then she needs to
determine whether or not she wishes to deal with her fear, but that is not
and should not be your problem.

Again, I think you outlined a good strategy. Go in with confidence and a
willingness to work toward a permanent solution so long as your rights are
not violated. 


Best,


Michael Hingson
Vice President, NAGDU

The Michael Hingson Group, INC.
"Speaking with Vision"
Michael Hingson, President
(415) 827-4084
info at michaelhingson.com
Please help us empower blind people and their families with your support at
www.gofundme.com/michaelhingson
To order Michael Hingson's new book, Running With Roselle, and check on
Michael Hingson's speaking availability for your next event please visit:
www.michaelhingson.com
 
To purchase your own portrait of Roselle painted by the world's foremost
animal artist, Ron Burns, please visit http://www.ronburns.com/roselle

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Daryl Marie via
nagdu
Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2015 8:01 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Daryl Marie
Subject: [nagdu] What I plan to say to my boss tomorrow...

Hi, guys,
I am a much better writer than spoken word communicator, so figured I would
put down my thoughts here and you can tell me what you think.  I plan on
talking with my boss tomorrow, and thought I would write down my thoughts.

Good morning, Peter (name changed),
I've spent a lot of this weekend thinking about what you asked of me on
Friday, about not bringing Jenny to the staff meeting today while the CEO is
in town.  You flat-out told me it was because of Hannah's (name changed)
being terrified of Jenny, even from across the room.  I've decided not to
bring Jenny to this particular meeting (and this meeting only) - not because
you have requested this of me, but because there is no particular need for
her to be at the meeting.  She will not be guiding me to the meeting, will
simply lay there during the talk, and there is no need for the company CEO
to think less of Hannah's professionalism because she's sitting there
looking terrified at a sleeping dog across the room from her.

That having been said, on a personal level, your request has troubled me
greatly.  In effect, by making it, you have said that I, with my disability,
am not invited to the meeting.  You would never consider asking someone to
leave their crutches, glasses or wheelchair behind because someone is
scared, so why must I be singled out?  I cannot change the fact that I can't
see and use a dog to navigate the world safely; Hannah can choose, at least
on some level, to understand that my dog will not hurt her when she is
sleeping.  We have someone with allergies in this office, and he has never
once asked me to make concessions for him, so why does fear trump medical
allergies?

I don't want to make this a bigger deal than it actually is.  I respect you
as a supervisor and a manager in this office, and I know that even as you
requested this of me you felt incredibly uneasy and awkward about doing so.
At this point, Hannah has requested that I not take Jenny into the washroom
when I go (a decision I probably would've reached on my own), and I have no
problem with this, but that is the only concession I plan to make
consistently.  If I can do anything to assist Hannah with her fear of dogs,
I would be more than happy to do so.  But simply not bringing Jenny around
any time Hannah is going to be somewhere is not a workable solution.

Thanks.

Daryl
_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/info%40michaelhingson.com