Continued Unemployability per D.C. Government Criteria

The government of the District of Columbia has determined that an employer may lawfully terminate an employee who, on the advice of a psychiatrist, appears to exhibit "ideas of reference," a psychiatric "disorder" that can be associated with a risk of violent behavior.  See Freedman v. D.C. Dept. Human Rights, D.C.C.A. no. 96-CV-961 (Sept. 1, 1998).

Such an employee may be said, as a matter of law, to pose a "direct threat in the workplace," and therefore does not enjoy the protections of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

I had a consult with my psychotherapist on Monday afternoon, December 19, 2011.  The psychiatrist is a third-year resident with St. Elizabeths Hospital.  His supervisor is Earle Baughman, M.D., a psychoanalyst.

At the beginning of the consult the psychiatrist referred to "soft porn."  At the end of the consult the psychiatrist pointed out that we would have a "two week" break in our sessions because of the upcoming Christmas and New Year's holidays, which will fall on successive Mondays, the day I see my psychiatrist.  I noted that the phrase "two week" is a homophone of the phrase "too weak."  I combined the phrase "too weak" with the word "soft" and had the inference that the psychiatrist had on his mind the idea that I had a "courageous, hard or strong" personality.

My inferences are ideas of reference, which, according to the D.C. Court of Appeals, may be associated with a risk of violent behavior.  Per the criteria of employability enunciated by the D.C. Court of Appeals in 1998, see Freedman, I continue to be unemployable notwithstanding the Americans With Disabilities Act, which permits an employer to refuse to hire an individual who poses a "direct threat" in the workplace.