Advice Nanny Job -discrimination issue

[april32010]

my view on this,is i should not have to let anyone in my home that i don’t want there.and that is for any reason and i should not have to state the reason.

 

[TheRealJuliane]

The difference with your disabled soldier, blind traffic cop, and disfunctional kindergarten teacher as they would all be easily dismissed on their own merit. If a person cannot or will not do their job properly, they should be fired, regardless of the reason. No one has said that someone should be hired even if they stink at a job, just because they have a disability. What I said is that it is wrong to fire someone who is doing their job well, without issue, because you become aware that they have a disability that is not affecting their work. All of the examples of people who do not have their bipolar under control should be dismissed. They should be dismissed because they are not doing their job correctly or as good as someone else could do it. Not because they have a mental disorder.

Allegra, the nature of bipolar disease (or whatever it’s currently termed) is that it is VERY difficult to control. You seem to have the impression that a bipolar person simply goes on meds and that is the end of it, no more problems. The meds don’t work well for a bipolar person because they lose the mania, which is like a high. They might still end up mildly depressed but without the mania to compensate. Even if the individual is more than willing to give up the high of the mania, their brain chemistry is just different from someone with other mental illnesses. Do some reading on bipolar - I have. You may know someone who is the exception instead of the rule. I would not want someone with a history of erratic, risky behavior to be in charge of my children, period, end of story.

I would hire a bipolar yard man, mechanic, maid, etc. but not to care for children.

 

[Allegra]

Allegra, the nature of bipolar disease (or whatever it’s currently termed) is that it is VERY difficult to control. You seem to have the impression that a bipolar person simply goes on meds and that is the end of it, no more problems. The meds don’t work well for a bipolar person because they lose the mania, which is like a high. They might still end up mildly depressed but without the mania to compensate. Even if the individual is more than willing to give up the high of the mania, their brain chemistry is just different from someone with other mental illnesses. Do some reading on bipolar - I have. You may know someone who is the exception instead of the rule. I would not want someone with a history of erratic, risky behavior to be in charge of my children, period, end of story.

I would hire a bipolar yard man, mechanic, maid, etc. but not to care for children.

Seriously? You don’t think I know what I’m talking about? Did you read what I posted? I have years of real life experience dealing with close family memebrs who continuously undergo treatment for this disorder. That includes being involved with support groups with dozens of successful, functioning individuals with bipolar disorder and their families. I’m talking about people who run households and businesses as well, not only people who can only manage a job normally ascribed to a teenager of an immigrant who hasn’t learned to speak English yet. I don’t know what you read in Paranoia Weekly but if you took it to mean that all people with Bipolar disorder can’t be trusted to do anything except scrub your toilet or trim your shrubs you are sorely misguided. Period. End of story.

 

[TheRealJuliane]

Seriously? You don’t think I know what I’m talking about? Did you read what I posted? I have years of real life experience dealing with close family memebrs who continuously undergo treatment for this disorder. That includes being involved with support groups with dozens of successful, functioning individuals with bipolar disorder and their families. I’m talking about people who run households and businesses as well, not only people who can only manage a job normally ascribed to a teenager of an immigrant who hasn’t learned to speak English yet. I don’t know what you read in Paranoia Weekly but if you took it to mean that all people with Bipolar disorder can’t be trusted to do anything except scrub your toilet or trim your shrubs you are sorely misguided. Period. End of story.

Well, all righty then! I guess we hit a sore nerve for you. You don’t have to get snarky about “Paranoia Weekly.” Each of us has our own experiences to draw from. And each of us has to make up his/her own mind about what we will accept in our lives. I’m going to unsubscribe to this thread because we are just arguing for no reason now. We can’t even help the OP since she lives in Korea.

 

[Serap]

Seriously? You don’t think I know what I’m talking about? Did you read what I posted? I have years of real life experience dealing with close family memebrs who continuously undergo treatment for this disorder. That includes being involved with support groups with dozens of successful, functioning individuals with bipolar disorder and their families. I’m talking about people who run households and businesses as well, not only people who can only manage a job normally ascribed to a teenager of an immigrant who hasn’t learned to speak English yet. I don’t know what you read in Paranoia Weekly but if you took it to mean that all people with Bipolar disorder can’t be trusted to do anything except scrub your toilet or trim your shrubs you are sorely misguided. Period. End of story.

Not nice. :tsktsk:

 

[EasterJoy]

Allegra, the nature of bipolar disease (or whatever it’s currently termed) is that it is VERY difficult to control. You seem to have the impression that a bipolar person simply goes on meds and that is the end of it, no more problems. The meds don’t work well for a bipolar person because they lose the mania, which is like a high. They might still end up mildly depressed but without the mania to compensate. Even if the individual is more than willing to give up the high of the mania, their brain chemistry is just different from someone with other mental illnesses. Do some reading on bipolar - I have. You may know someone who is the exception instead of the rule. I would not want someone with a history of erratic, risky behavior to be in charge of my children, period, end of story.

I would hire a bipolar yard man, mechanic, maid, etc. but not to care for children.

In the US, a prospective employer cannot ask about an applicant’s medical history for just this reason: that is, an employer might discriminate against people with a medical problem that the employer is afraid of, even though the prospective employee can demonstrate that they are reliable.

What an employer can ask is this: Do you have any experience with caring for a child as a live-in caregiver? If not, what is your experience in caring for children? What were your working conditions? What was your schedule? Did you ever have to work overtime? How was that? How many days were you absent without advance notice? May I contact previous employers for a reference, to verify that? Do you have any disabilities that could impede your ability to maintain your composure with small children for 12 hours in a row? And so on.

IOW, you can’t ask about their medical history, but you can ask about work history,and you can ask for references who can verify work history. That is fair game, and a person who does have their issues well-controlled will be able to provide that work history.

The labor laws in South Korea may allow prospective employers to ask certain questions, but it is unlikely they require a person to disclose their medical history or that forbid skirting a question so as to avoid unfair discrimination. IOW, the OP may be able to answer the question “do you have any mental conditions?” with “Nothing that has affected my ability to work with children. I am very reliable, as my previous supervisors can attest. Every work review has been excellent.”

If the employer presses, the OP can say, “I am a very reliable person, but I am also a very private person. I do want to give you all the information that you actually need to make your selection, however. Could you be more specific about what your concerns are? I think you will find my habit of discretion very valuable, because it would of course extend to your private affairs, as well.” I would take this tack on every part of the interview, and not just the topic of mental conditions. If you are private in general about what ought to be kept private, it is not so likely to arouse suspicion with an interviewer when you choose to act private in that area, as well.