Employers discriminating against people who don't drive?

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I refer to it as "the hidden discrimination".

Understandably, if a job requires one to drive around a lot, or if the company site is in a remote location, then there is very little choice but to expect the candidate to have a car.

However, I've experienced possible discrimination in jobs that don't explicitly require the employee to drive a car. For example, I've noticed that managers have assumed that everyone owns a car and seem surprised when I mention that I don't have my own transport. I've also noticed it in emails, for example instructions telling people how to access the site by car, but no guidance for people accessing the site on foot or bike, or where to store their belongings. I've also applied for jobs where only in the final interview has the employer told me that they expect me to drive - at no point in the job advert or the recruitment process was this stated.

It would be nice for employers to even simply recognise that many people are either unable to drive, or simply choose not to.

The main problem is that many people can't actually afford to drive, or they require a long period of time to save up for the upfront expenses of purchasing a car, paying for driving classes, etc. Not to mention that many people suffer from disabilities and conditions, or even medication side effects, that render them unable to drive.

There are many reasons why someone would not drive a car

Medical:. Epilepsy
Financial:. Can't afford
Legal:. Dui
Environmental

In some locations it is more convenient to take public transportation than drive

Some people prefer biking

Plenty of jobs that pay only minimum wage, expect applicants to drive

If driving is an "essential job function", it is not "discrimination".

Plenty of employers expect all applicants to have cell phones and answer them at all times

Not all expectations are justified, but that doesn't make them "discrimination" per se

In my place of work it's an advantage. The job itself is a workshop job but you never know when a driver is ill or something needs to pick a part up in a hurry.

The assurance that the welder, cleaner or draftsman can jump in a transit van to pick up whatever is needed is always a good advantage. They even trained a welder up to be a lorry driver here just in case.

I don't drive, and I have been both a boss and an employee. I 've been on both sides of the issue. Employers don't care whether you drive or not as long as you get to work when you are supposed to consistently. As an employer I have had far more trouble from people who's cars are not dependable than those who use other ways to get to work.

As far as directions go, if someone asks me how to get to work, I'll tell them. Whether that's by car or by public transit. But nowadays, if someone can't figure out how they need to get where they need to go its a bit of a red-flag. It tells me that they aren't comfortable with pretty basic technology and/or they aren't very independent. That isn't always a problem (depending on the nature of the job) but it could be.

This is just one of many factors that come into play. People are people, they will judge you by their standards.

Not a representative sample but at my previous jobs, employees that lived farther away tended to come on time, more often than the employees that lived closer to work

That could be because of a lot of reasons, but I think it is because people that live further away overestimate the time it takes to get there and people that live closer, underestimate the time it takes to get there

I once got a job that specifically wanted me to drive in order to do deliveries. I didn't have a license, so they had one of their staff drive me to wherever I needed to deliver. It was on the understanding that I'd do driving lessons. Alas, after several months and still no license, they had to let me go.

I wonder if for some bosses the license issue is a milestone thing. For example, in each section of the scouts, there's a special badge (the Venturers in Australia have the Queen's Scout Award), that is great for a resume. It's not directly applicable for most jobs, but it tells a potential employer something about their personality, aptitude, discipline, etc. Maybe a person's ability or willingness (or not), to get their driver's license says something to some employers in the same way.

I had a job for which I rode my bicycle five miles each way.

One day, the boss wanted me to deliver a package that was 8 cubic feet and weighed fifty pounds. I tried to explain, but he told me to STFU and just do it.

I balanced it on the seat and made the delivery.

He complained that I took too long.

I told him to come look at my “ride”.

He saw the bike, and asked me where the eff my car was.

I said, “What car?”

He told me to get an effing car or look for another job.

I got another job, which started the following Monday.

He demanded two week’s notice or he would withhold my pay.

I had my lawyer talk to him (all this took place shortly after my divorce).

The boss cut my paycheck himself and told me to get the eff out of his sight because he believed any man who had no car and no wife and who did not fight his own battles was not a real man and did not deserve a job.

Some people have some very strange ideas as to what makes a man.

I have only really seen it recently in regards to soccer refereeing. I have my own car and get out to my games. One official I worked with a few weeks back stated that he was told he wouldn't receive anymore games for a month from the regional leagues due to failure to make assignments on time. After our game was done, I watched him get on a bus, presumably to go home. It then dawned on me why he failed to show up to some game assignments.

It's also a well known fact that busses in our town are totally unreliable. My wife coming home from work with our child back in 2021 would tell me how often bus drivers would just drive right on by the bus stop despite her being there waiting to get on. This would often delay her return home by another hour.

Even better was the Ottawa LRT system the very first day that some bus routes were redesigned back in 2019. The Monday, traffic was fine where I was coming from. But lots of media reports and social media backlash for how poorly managed the whole system was were all over my newsfeeds that same Monday. The next day, traffic was lined up on the roads for a couple km. Guess employers made it clear that lates won't be tolerated and everyone hopped in their cars instead.

Employers tend to prefer candidates with reliable transportation. Your own car that runs adequately tends to be the most preferred form as it provides the highest guarantee.

Even some jobs that only paid minimum wage specified they required cars

All things equal, which they are not, minimum wage is not enough to afford a car

Besides applicants that have cars, need to earn more cash, than applicants without cars, all things equal

On the other hand, some job interviews didn't ask me how I got there or if I had a car



However, it is not "discrimination" unless it is against a population covered by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

The worst are the ones that say they require you to have your own car, and expect you to use it to get from job site to job site throughout the work day, yet the pay they're offering is a hair above minimum wage - a far cry from the income required to own and operate a car, even with no payments and maximum insurance discount! It's little wonder these jobs are advertised as available and they're unable to fill them.

It's much nicer to see jobs that say their location is not public transit accessible and people require their own reliable transportation to/from - at least they're up front about that. Scooters, bicycles, running shoes etc can all be reliable transportation. All they Should care about is that people are able to show up as scheduled. If they're demanding people have cars for jobs that don't require them, my guess is because they're terrible at planning and scheduling and want to abuse people during their time off by calling them into work and expecting them to be able to drop what they're doing and drive in asap. Lolz - more companies are hiring than ever right now.. go to work for someone else.

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No for supporting trump. Because doing so is deplorable.

I don't drive to & from work because of my epilepsy.

The bus stations are across the street from each other and
my boss is understanding of the fact that it takes me longer to get
to work because buses is the only way for me to commute to work.

Please remember that getting a good job is a numbers game.

Be ready with a medium short follow-up such as:

“I’m a highly dependable employee who’s very rarely sick. And plus, I find riding the bus more relaxing than driving.”

And substitute “walking” or “riding my bicycle” as needed.

And yes, be willing to exaggerate a little.