discriminated out because of age and being an aspie

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I was forced into resigning from the well-paying job I had been at for 29 years, a highly technical job which I always used to get good evaluations for. My new supervisor would have me come in her office, shut the door, and then she'd tear me apart over little things that did not warrant the kind of harassment I was getting. Even though it was on file with human resources that I needed an advocate present for supervisor-employee contacts because of my Asperger's, she walked all over that. Finally, right before I knew she was about to terminate me, I resigned...better that than the alternative, right? Well, not quite right, but doable. I can collect unemployment insurance for nine months while I look for another job, because of mine was a case of "resignation under duress." Unemployment insurance in my state is only half of what you made on the job, though. Still, not a bad deal.

I have a lawyer, too. I'm sick of employers doing this to Aspies (and to older employees). I plan on taking whatever action needs to be taken in court to let my employer know that they can't get away with this under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and also discrimination based on age.

I am discriminated by age + being an aspie too. But I am considered "too young" not "too old".

I am 26 but I look like 16, which together with my poor, "immature" social skills make me unhireable.

Bad bosses are bad for everyone. They do this to NTs too. No company wants this kind of manager, but sometimes it's difficult to out them because 1) they get results, or at least appear to 2) they're nice to everyone above them and 3) they get rid of everyone who they can't fear-monger into silent obedience. Over time, this leads to high turnover and worse results, and these managers, if they haven't been promoted before this occurs, will jump ship to cause problems somewhere else. We accountants call them workplace psychopaths--they're more common than most people would believe.

Age discrimination in the USA really starts at 30 when employers expect you either should have accomplished something noteworthy on your resume or you have competing values (e.g., family or personal pursuits) with your career. At 40, most people notice it. By 50, those who haven't managed to do anything noteworthy find it hard to get any good opportunity.

Laws exist against it, but they are almost impossible to enforce.

Autism/disability is another issue.

All you can do is look for people and situations that look favorably on what you do offer them.

The lack of having an advocate present when that is documented could be key to doing something about this. You may want to check and see if there is a state level disability advocate or rights group or state agency. They may be useful in helping you press such a case.

The corporate/office world in the US is horrible the way it is. Add in a psychopath for a boss and it can be pure hell.

Your boss was a psychopath. I've seen it too; this has actually been studied in behavioral genomics! I suggest you do some research on the 'warrior gene', carriers of the psychopathy phenotype/allele have been proven beyond any reasonable doubt to gravitate to lofty management positions where they can subjugate everyone to the point of negating any chance of the physical altercations they're evolved for.

_________________
"Standing on a well-chilled cinder, we see the fading of the suns, and try to recall the vanished brilliance of the origin of the worlds."
-Georges Lemaitre
"I fly through hyperspace, in my green computer interface"
-Gem Tos

I've seen this happen to a dozen or so Aspies over the years, and it upsets me each time. Often times, I wonder whether or not the NT's are just trying to get Aspies to quit without having to file all the paperwork it takes to legally fire someone.

I will keep you all updated. I talked with a very understanding friend today while we went for a jog, and it's amazing how running can clear up your thoughts. I realized (and told him) that if I win a lawsuit, I want to start something BIG that prevents this from happening to other aspies who are abused in the American workplace. I had an idea for a title of a book, among other avenues I could pursue: "The American Workplace: Leave Your Democracy at the Door." (I think it needs to be shorter, though).

My former boss was like that, but he wasn't legally able to fire me and I knew it. He would belittle me and try to make my life hell. However I was probably the most undesirable employee under a sociopath/psychopath, someone who didn't take crap from anyone when he knows he isn't in the wrong. A proper boss in my eyes is a cooperative person, a person who knows that you can increase efficiency while increasing employee satisfaction at the same time. A proper boss doesn't try to constantly change work procedures without realizing that his ideas may be harmful to efficiency and may cause more stress than relief. I generally wouldn't do too well under authoritarian or psychological bosses. It would just rot the workplace atmosphere. I have been unemployed since December now since I only had a two year contract anyways.

First of all, to Cartier, I'm not going to put all the details on here of how I was harassed. It was indeed that, though, for I was having more panic attacks than I've ever had in my life, which was leading to me making mistakes. The latter is something that shocked me, because I'm so methodically careful about my work (my helpful aspie trait) that it's unusual for me to make errors (I always knock on wood after I say that, though). Let's just say my supervisor had taken an action that bypasses the usual three written warnings process and Human Resources told me that the result of it could have very easily been instant termination.

What I did notice, though, was that the more I was harassed, the more I shut down and things like my memory stopped working. I was so worried that I was getting Alzheimer's that I went to a neurologist, and he put me on a medical leave. After a week of medical leave and many tests, my memory bounced back to normal. I'm still unemployed, and am trying to figure out how I'm going to survive financially. I will NOT go back to work for such an abusive person. So debating whether or not my boss harassed me is a very low priority right now. But I do have a lawyer, and he's written a letter to the President of the corporation I worked for. The latter has ten days to reply, and then we may take some more serious legal action. I'm going to stop talking about this right now, because it's 2 o'clock in the morning here and I'm having trouble sleeping. THINKING about this has been disrupting my sleep for months.