Zero Tolerance Policy Discriminates Against Chronically Ill and Pregnant Individuals
Pros
They have benefits and pay above average for an entry level job in East Tennessee
Cons
If you are a person with a condition that requires you to go to the doctor even just once a month, don’t waste your time pursuing a job with ACT/Advance Call Center Technologies. Don’t get your hopes up about the above average pay, the benefits, or the fact it appears disability friendly. They have a zero tolerance policy for absences, even partial absences in the first 30-90 days of employment. You will still be written up and eventually fired with a doctors note - that is if you’re even able to get hired without exposing that you’re chronically ill or pregnant and need to miss - oh wait, you CAN’T. Their training schedule is weekdays from 8am-5pm, the entirety of the time a doctors office would be open. This zero tolerance policy completely bars any pregnant & chronically ill applicants from becoming employees because they HAVE to see a doctor at least once a month and ACT is aware of this - yet provides no accommodations. I don’t know how it is legal to reprimand employees and reject applicants that have medical conditions and NEED to see doctors... but it has just happened to me in a lobby full of people. I had my things handed back to me and told to “have a nice day” after I explained that I was pregnant and would have to at least take a partial day for a doctors appointment once a month during this period. They were not willing to make any accommodations and reiterated I would still be reprimanded and eventually terminated for any partial absences even if they are for necessary doctors appointments. This is a BARRIER to employment for the chronically ill and pregnant that they are aware of and they are knowingly discriminating, and wasting the time of innocent humans who are just looking for a job to be able to feed themselves and afford a bed to sleep in. Be warned, this “simple customer service” job is not friendly for people with medical conditions. Why would chronically ill & pregnant people have a fair chance at an entry level job around here that offers benefits and pays above average? We don’t. They can’t offer you just 2-3 hours of accommodation for a doctors appointment every month. This is what they provide for the pregnant, chronically ill, and disabled working class.
