Letter to the Editor: Handling of open positions unfair

By Sun Advocate

Editor:
I am writing today to express my frustration with the employment situation in this town. Jobs are listed all the time in the help wanted section of the newspaper, or listed on the boards at Workforce Services. Yet it seems that so often they not filled by those who apply for them.
My husband has been looking for work since we moved to Price 1996. He has applied for many jobs, and has been interviewed many times. He has yet to find employment. I don’t understand this. He is educated, is a retired Army Ranger with numerous decorations including Purple Hearts, has extensive experience in computers. He is partially disabled due to injuries he sustained during Operation Desert Storm. He is a wonderful husband and devoted father to our 6 year old daughter, and a very good person. He has so much to offer an employer.
There are numerous examples of favoritism/nepotism in hiring practices in this area. In one case he applied for a position with Carbon County, yet when the position was filled the niece of the head of the department for which he was interviewed received the job. In another case with the City of Price, he never even was granted an interview. As a disabled veteran, he should be interviewed for positions with any government entity.
When he was not chosen for an interview with Helper City, he was told that the Veteran’s Preference ‘didn’t apply’ to Helper.
A job within the Department of Workforce Services for which he applied and interviewed was ‘filled from within the Department.’
An entry-level receptionist position with the Office for People with Disabilities was refused him. You would think a Disabled Vet would know a bit about what people with disabilities face…including the problems they have with things like job discrimination.
Several months ago, he tested for the position of Radio Dispatcher here in Price. He was told by the people who interviewed him that he had tested higher than anyone else applying for the position. He got a call the next day telling him the job was his, and was even told that should he need special equipment due to his disability that would be arranged.
A week later a letter arrived saying that he did not qualify for the job due to un-named reasons. He contacted the author of the letter up in Salt Lake to find out what the reasons are, but was told they couldn’t reveal the reasons because that was ‘privileged information’. He then contacted the supervisor of the letter’s author and was told the same thing� privileged information. He wanted to know what the reasons were in order to have a chance to fix or correct what could be inaccurate information, since to his knowledge there was no reason in his background for the refusal of hire. He felt, and still feels, that it is his right to know what prevented him from getting the position. I just found out that a relative of someone within the Department of Corrections was hired instead.
There is something seriously wrong when people who want to work cannot find employment unless they are related to someone within the department, office or company to which they are applying. In my eyes, there is something morally wrong about advertising a position or job when there is no intention of hiring any of those interviewed, since a relative or friend is already lined up to fill the slot. This is not just a few isolated incidents. He has applied for many, many jobs since our arrival here. While there are some out there who are going to toss my letter aside as ‘sour grapes’, I am willing to bet that there are numerous more who can attest that they also have been victims of the unfair hiring practices in this area.