This summer marks the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was signed into law on July 26, 1990. Yet, on the eve of the anniversary of the ADA’s passage, Haggen Food & Pharmacy, which came into Santa Barbara to purchase redundant grocery stores after the Safeway/Vons merger with Albertsons, has laid off all 14 courtesy clerks with developmental disabilities that PathPoint had placed with the original corporations. This also happened in Paso Robles, as reported in the Daily News .
While PathPoint’s employment specialists are doing everything possible to get those individuals lined up with other grocery stores, the workers will lose their seniority and working relationships. Additionally, there is mention of an agreement between Haggen, Albertsons, and Vons that an employee cannot look for replacement work at those grocery stores for a year. This will no doubt impact our individuals who are trying to relocate to other stores.
I understand that businesses make decisions based on profitability goals, but the impact of a lay off on the people we support is so much broader than Haggen has considered. I applaud Vons, Albertsons, and Ralphs for their long history of providing employment and promotional opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities.