Ask Me Help Desk - Color blindness

I am colorblind. Worked in my field for 17 years now, healthcare.
I have only taken 1 test with my company and failed the first few months into hire.
Instead of firing me 17 years ago, they ignored it. And the subject "went away"
I found a company paper showing that my clinical manager 5 years later checked off that I passed the test, even though I never took it again.

My question. Since this is a serious matter for employement in ALL health care areas.

Do I have any rights to compensation at my age (51) if the company finds out now I am color blind, and terminates my employment even though they chose to ignore the issue.. I was fought for in the beginning because of my excellent work history and record. (yes its true)
MOST LIKELY I am sure they would move me into a NON patient care position, instead of losing me but I cannot afford a pay decrease at my age. I would lose everything.

Is there anything I should be doing to protect myself? Thanks

Are you in a union? THere isn't a pass because time a lot of time went by... THere was a case where someone lied about having been arrested when they were hired... and it was discovered 30+ years later and they ewre fired for it... this isn't the case here... but all you would be entitled to is severance pay based on what their policy might be... and you would be able to collect unemployment until you find another job.

Sorry but you really have no rights other than that. That's life... there are no jobs for life... and haven't been for a very, very long time.

What can you do to protect yourself?. keep your resume up to date... and keep a list of places to send it to ready. If you haven't already... keep in touch with people you may know that work other places... most jobs never get advertised.

That and reduce your spending levels... nobody should be spending everything they earn... no matter how much or how little it is. Then you wouldn't have to worry about losing everything if you had to take a pay cut. Speaking as someone who learned that lesson the hard way over 26 years ago.

No union. Maybe I vote for it the next time. Yes I figured you had no more rights than an "at will". Thank you for the answer and I will take that advice and start my resume, just in case. I do work for a great company but we know how far that gets us.. thanks again

Quote:

Originally Posted by smoothy

Are you in a union? THere isn't a pass because time a lot of time went by... THere was a case where someone lied about having been arrested when they were hired... and it was discovered 30+ years later and they ewre fired for it... this isn't the case here... but all you would be entitled to is severance pay based on what their policy might be... and you would be able to collect unemployment until you find another job.

Sorry but you really have no rights other than that. That's life... there are no jobs for life... and haven't been for a very, very long time.

What can you do to protect yourself?. keep your resume up to date... and keep a list of places to send it to ready. If you haven't already... keep in touch with people you may know that work other places... most jobs never get advertised.

That and reduce your spending levels... nobody should be spending everything they earn... no matter how much or how little it is. Then you wouldn't have to worry about losing everything if you had to take a pay cut. Speaking as someone who learned that lesson the hard way over 26 years ago.

You say that is a serious matter in healthcare and I can understand how that could be so. But how have you managed for 17 years? Do you rely on others to assist you when color determination is critical? There are many different aspects/levels of colorblindness. Have you ever tried any simple testing on your own? Without looking, I can just about guarantee that there are online tests.
Maybe the initial assessment was incorrect. What documentation would exist to show that you falsified anything? Where did you find the document that indicated your manager had altered the record? Can anyone ever prove that you did see it? Did you properly have access to it? Did you sign anything saying you are not color blind?
I don't know what the details of your job are. But if distinguishing color is an important part of your job you may be putting the company in a risky position. Do you ever have to testify in any hearings or other legal affairs? The company could certainly face embarrassment and/or monetary loss if it were determined that you are not really qualified to do the job you do.
First off, I don't know if you are color blind. Do you? If you have been independently tested and you are color blind- AND it is of a level that affects your work, the right thing to do is to own up to it and let the chips fall where they may. Unless there is more documentation somewhere I don't think that anybody has grounds to accuse you of falsifying anything.
This is a tough one for me. Maybe you can do your current job fine, or maybe your duties will change and the color problem will come into play and it will be my health jeopardized.
Or maybe your old boss studied it carefully and determined that it made no real difference for what your job at that company was or might become.
If you can provide some more detail it might help me. And are you really color blind???