Leeds Woman Alleges Job Discrimination due to Hearing Impairment

According to an August 31, Bangor Daily News story, Agnes Farnsworth was let go of her seventeen-year volunteer job for Kennebec Valley Community Action Program when she requested that she receive communication via text message instead of phone, due to her hearing loss.

In March 2011, Farnsworth asked to receive text messages on her agency-provided cellphone instead of calls, due to her hearing loss, when instructions were relayed to her about passenger pickups and drop-offs.
That form of communication was used for two weeks then stopped. The agency’s transportation manager sent her a letter telling Farnsworth she was fired because “communication between staff and yourself (sic) has become almost impossible in regards to phone conversations and that is a very important part of our process,” according to a report filed by Michele Dion, an MHRC investigator.

Farnsworth's claim is being investigated by the Maine Human Rights Commission. Read the complete story at BDN Maine.