John Clayton's wife says disability cost her a job

[ifilus]

RENTON, Wash. -- A Renton woman says her wheelchair cost her a job at King County Elections.

Patricia Clayton was a temporary worker at the elections headquarters in Renton for four years, so she was surprised when her bosses told her Monday she was no longer welcome.

“They said there was a complaint – complaints from my co-workers that I was a burden to my co-workers asking them to assist me,” said Clayton.

http://www.king5.com/news/Elections-worker-says-disability-cost-her-a-job-177053071.html

 

[Gold]

That seems like incredible cowardice on the part of the supervisors, blaming co-workers.

 

[Giggity]

She worked agate in Tacoma at The News Tribune for a lot of years. I believe that's where they met, in fact.

 

[93Devil]

"It’s not like Clayton needs the $17 an hour job. Her husband is an NFL Hall of Fame sportswriter and ESPN commentator."

Are you serious Chris Ingalls?

 

[Ben_Hecht]

"It’s not like Clayton needs the $17 an hour job. Her husband is an NFL Hall of Fame sportswriter and ESPN commentator."

Are you serious Chris Ingalls?

A shameful, brain-dead comment.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

If true, there should be a special place in hell for anyone who complains about having to help someone in a wheelchair. "Aww ****! You mean I have to stop focusing on what matters to ME at this moment to help YOU??? **** this."

Suck a ****, choke on it and die.

 

[shockey]

If true, there should be a special place in hell for anyone who complains about having to help someone in a wheelchair. "Aww ****! You mean I have to stop focusing on what matters to ME at this moment to help YOU??? **** this."

Suck a ****, choke on it and die.

i know pat. we are both blessed with m.s., the gift that just keeps on giving. and, like me, NOTHING pains pat more than having to be so reliant on the assistance of others. people are incredibly kind, almost NEVER allowing us to feel like we're a burden or a pain-in-the-butt. so when others show no shame by acting with cowardice it REALLY stands out.

shame on them all. i wish them all nothing but good health, because trust me, payback WILL be a *****....

 

[Elliotte Friedman]

As I read the story, I imagined how terrible I'd feel if someone I cared about was humiliated like that. Awful.

 

[tapintoamerica]

If true, there should be a special place in hell for anyone who complains about having to help someone in a wheelchair. "Aww ****! You mean I have to stop focusing on what matters to ME at this moment to help YOU??? **** this."

Suck a ****, choke on it and die.

That was my first thought, too. Then I got to wondering, and I'm not sure we can weigh in on this one without the full set of facts. What if, for example, the colleagues wanted to help Clayton, but a supervisor was starting to get on them because the process was taking "too much time?" Or something like that. Again, I don't know, but it's possible the problem is not the colleagues but the supervisors.

 

[SixToe]

In any case, colleagues or supervisors (or both), it still is shameful and abhorrent to treat someone that way.

Shockey said it right: payback will be a *****. They'll get theirs one day, either here on earth or when they meet their maker.

 

[Bubbler]

"It’s not like Clayton needs the $17 an hour job. Her husband is an NFL Hall of Fame sportswriter and ESPN commentator."

Are you serious Chris Ingalls?

Good Lord. That sentence stopped the story dead in its tracks.

 

[Double Down]

If someone said that **** about my wife, if would take everything in me to resist punching them in the teeth. "You deserve no self-worth because your spouse makes money doing journalism!"

As clueless a quote as I've seen in years.

 

[Pete Wevurski]

I know Pat and she's among the most caring individuals I've come across. She'd do anything she can to help another person. Shockey is spot on about MS patients never, ever wanting to be a burden on anyone. I know this because my sister has MS and Pat has long offered her advice and encouragement. To think that anyone would hold her affliction against Pat is unimaginable and, frankly, unforgiveable. For a co-worker to do so is bad enough; for a supervisor to either do so -- or condone the same -- is far worse. (And, yes, Pat and John met while working at the News Tribune in Tacoma.)

 

[LongTimeListener]

Can people really be that stupid and hold jobs? I know they can be that evil, but can they be that stupid?

 

[SportsGuyBCK]

Can people really be that stupid and hold jobs? I know they can be that evil, but can they be that stupid?

Unfortunately, yes ... and it seems that employers want to hire more people like that every day ...

 

[Riptide]

If someone said that **** about my wife, if would take everything in me to resist punching them in the teeth. "You deserve no self-worth because your spouse makes money doing journalism!"

As clueless a quote as I've seen in years.

But it wasn't even a quote. It's the writer's own work.

 

[old_tony]

This story has so much fail attached to it, beginning with the co-workers and getting even worse with the writer's comment that she doesn't need the job.

 

[tapintoamerica]

Might she have any cause for litigation?
Seems to me there's a problem with the building in question as well as the culture of the people in it.

 

[Beaker]

Might she have any cause for litigation?
Seems to me there's a problem with the building in question as well as the culture of the people in it.

I think there might be under the ADA, which certainly covers municipal public entities (Title II). Her MS obviously impairs her to such a degree that she would fall under the law's purview. Her work status might be a question, however. The story says she was a "temporary worker," but she was paid, so she clearly wasn't a volunteer. Assuming she's covered, the county would have to provide a reasonable accommodation, which they obviously didn't.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Can people really be that stupid and hold jobs? I know they can be that evil, but can they be that stupid?

Of course. Quite a few of them become CEOs.