His name is Joe. Joe cleans tables at a coffee bar I frequent. Joe has limited functioning. Whatever his diagnosis is, he could be on the severe end of the autism spectrum. Joe does a great job at keeping the tables clean and performing “hey you” tasks. Even though Joe is tall and big enough, they never ask him to carry the heavy urns of hot coffee. I suspect carrying hot coffee might be too much for Joe. Carrying large, hot urns of coffee involves some matters of judgment that are probably too much for Joe. Joe does his job well, but he is always looking to others for affirmation. He is never sure if he is doing his job correctly. He is equally hesitant in his social encounters – except hello and taking about the San Antonio Spurs. But, even regarding the Spurs, he always ask a person if his, Joe’s understanding of a recent game is correct.

DEI Hires

I think of Joe when I hear Pres. Trump blaming DEI hires for the plane crash in Washington, D.C. In his opening remarks, Pres. Trump clearly suggested the crash was due to DEI hires at the airport. He said Obama and Biden both lowered their standards for Air Traffic Controllers (ATC). He said you have to be very intelligent to be an ATC. He pointed to a specific notice somewhere in which the Biden administration said they would hire the most “severely intellectual disabled” person for the FAA. See CBS news report here.

Federal Hiring Process

I know that is nonsense. I have represented enough Federal workers and myself worked for the Federal government to know no one person can lower standards for Federal employment. It is just not possible. The person who writes the job description is often different from the person who posts job openings who is different from the hiring official for said job. Pres. Trump was stereotyping the Federal workforce. But, he was also stereotyping folks like Joe and DEI. DEI does not mean hiring persons who are incapable of performing a given job duty. On the contrary, the Americans with Disabilities Act is clear that no job duty may be changed to accommodate a disability. That just cannot happen. Joe does his cleaning tables job very well. But, he could never be hired to land airplanes.

I worked for Disability Rights of Texas for many years. The guiding principle there is that persons with disabilities should be allowed to do as much work as they are capable. Joe is working at his maximum capacity. He clearly enjoys his work. His presence brings a certain something to the coffee place. The mere presence of a “Joe” brings good will that cannot be measured.

Common Sense

When asked why he thinks a DEI hire had some connection to the crash, Pres. Trump answered simply, “Because I have common sense, okay?” He may have common sense, but he has zero sense or experience with persons with disabilities. Joe certainly could not land a plane. But, a good many persons with varying types of impairments absolutely could land a plane. Pres. Trump betrays bis deeply held bias when he asserts that a person with a disability could not serve as an Air Traffic Controller. The current President lowered the level of discourse considerably with his unkind, ignorant comments. As we believed at Disability Rights of Texas and as the ADA provides, it depends on the individual. It is necessarily a case-by case analysis regarding what a given job applicant can do. The President demeaned every person with a disability when he relies on his own innate prejudices.