Discriminatory hiring process?

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I applied for an entry level position with an IT company several month ago.
I received an email a recently to schedule a virtual interview.

I had applied for this position because I had learned this employer specialized
in hiring those on the spectrum. (I am an adult who received an autism diagnosis in his 30s)

I was taken aback (shocked frankly) that included in the interview request was the following:

I'm delighted to tell you we are currently hiring for an entry-level position and would like you to come in for a chat.

Please note that it's important you have your guardian (not in a legal sense but a trusted person who you turn to for support and one we can regularly correspond with in case your employment with **** is successful) with you during our conversation.

I find this to be an unusual and frankly degrading request. Requesting that one bring a 'guardian' implies they cannot manage their own affairs.

I may utilize disability assistance, but I do manage my own affairs. I live independently. I make all of my own decisions, whether financial or otherwise. I have never been asked by any employer for such an absurd request.

While I realize the company may have it's reasons for having this kind of process, I do feel it is discriminatory.

I called the company and spoke with the individual who sent me the email. I indicated I would agree to an interview though I would not agree to their terms. (I would only be interviewed by myself as I felt other conditions were inappropriate).
The individual from the company explained they would not make an exception.

I later sent them an email and explained my thoughts on what I felt was a discriminatory hiring process.

The nature of gaining employment is that it brings independence. It seems this company -though perhaps with the best of intentions - is taking advantage of those on the spectrum.

What do you think?

I cannot see how there would be any legal reason to request this.

If anything, such a request could backfire on them legally - if they faced a human rights complaint for example.

I am inclined to believe that you may have over-reacted.  Note that this is just my opinion, and not a personal attack.  I was not there, so I don't know what happened other than what you reported.

There were many time when I wished I could have had someone with me, if only to witness the goings-on.

Other times, I have been proud to handle the interview process myself and get hired.

Maybe next time, take someone with you, do the interview, and then go for coffee to debrief with your "escort".

I think they are trying to accommodate employees that need a guardian. Which is probably a good thing...they are trying to help.

Just tell them that you don't have or need a guardian and will represent yourself.

This is completely unreasonable. Where are you supposed to even get a guardian/carer? Many people with Aspergers/Autism do not have much in the way of a social life or supportive family.

If they consider it compulsory to attend with your guardian, (unless they have screwed up somewhere as mentioned in other posts), it probably means that they do not want to speak to you personally. I'd would take that as a sign that they are to be avoided as an employer.

After further reflection...

If they are organized to seek new employees needing a guardian then it logically follows all (or almost all) of their new employees do need a guardian.

I wonder what working in that environment would be like for the rare employee who does not need a guardian.

@JamesW

I could name the company but I don't think it's necessary.

I feel as though they are treating those on the spectrum who they want to hire
like children. It's as though they don't trust them enough to be hired as regular, competent employees.

Actually, I will name the company because at this point - I do not care.

I do not want anyone to seek out this company and send them nasty messages
based on their feelings about this.

Please don't do that.

The company is named 'Technology North' and you can find them through google.

You can see in their media section of their website how they push the autism narrative.

Their web page's "Candidate Information Form" asks:

->Do You Have a Guardian? (required)
->○ Yes
->○ No

I believe having a Guardian is not "(required)" but rather that answering that specific question is required.

And that it is remarkable that a candidate requiring a guardian is not automatically disqualified.

Overall, on the surface of it, Technology North looks commendable to me and like a promising place for an Autistic to apply...if the specific position being applied for also sounds interesting to you.

So, according to Edmonton Police who they are a contractor for:

“Working collaboratively with Technology North, we developed this project to train a group of their autistic employees to assist us with the redaction of body worn camera footage, which is structured and repeatable work that suits their extraordinary capabilities and talents.”

So in other words, its boring tedious stuff that no one else wants to do so lets give it to the autistics and call it an extraordinary talent.

Yeah, sounds like an excellent place to work . Probably nothing wrong with the job itself, but at least pander to my autistic preference for honesty and call it what it is - an ordinary job which anyone could do.

Hehe. According to a news article about their scanning service:

“People just don’t want to do this kind of work because it’s tedious and leads to a lot of error rates. But people with autism love it and have proven to do it really well.”

They also include a testimonial from one employee's father, which might explain why they would prefer to deal with a parent/guardian rather than an individual. Again, probably nothing particularly wrong with the job, but I am at a loss as to why autistic people are automatically going to like it other than because they couldn't get a job anywhere else.

Source: https://whatsyourtech.ca/2020/11/24/aut ... reau-jobs/

Because they can't get a job anywhere else.

Honestly, if you need a job and you're not having any luck, why not? I can think of worse activities than going through body-worn camera footage.