Photo/Illutration A plaintiff holds her notebook containing communications between her and a nursery school operator in Fukuoka on Nov. 5. (Kazuki Nunota)

FUKUOKA—A child care worker has sued her former employer over what she said was “unjust” pressure to quit her job because of her developmental disabilities.

The Fukuoka resident, 39, is seeking about 2.56 million yen ($22,000) in compensation from the operating company of the nursery school where she had worked.

She said the nursery school lacked an understanding of her developmental disabilities and discriminated against her.

The defendant asked the Fukuoka District Court to dismiss the lawsuit in the first hearing on Nov. 10. But its arguments were not made public.

“We have submitted our written answers to the district court,” a lawyer for the operating company said. “We have asked the court to dismiss the plaintiff’s request. We will reveal our arguments in detail later on.”

The nursery school declined to comment about the case when contacted by The Asahi Shimbun.

According to the lawsuit and other sources, the woman started working full time at the accredited nursery school in Fukuoka in April 2018.

She had more than 10 years of experience in child care and was responsible for a class of 1-year-olds at the school.

After she was diagnosed with developmental disabilities in October 2019, she discussed her condition with a representative of the operating company on June 26, 2020.

She quoted the representative as saying during the talks, “It is risky (to do child caring work).” She said the representative then proposed that she become a part-time worker.

The following day, when the woman rejected the proposal, the representative urged her to quit her job.

She submitted her resignation notice to the company on June 29.

“She has developmental disabilities, but she has never done anything that has caused problems in her work,” the plaintiff’s team said.

The team said the school’s request for her to quit her job violated the law for promoting employment of people with disabilities, which states: “Workers must not receive unjust discrimination on grounds of their disabilities.”

LAWSUIT FOR VICTIMIZED PEOPLE

The woman learned about her condition when she brought her eldest daughter to a hospital.

The mother could not understand some parts of what a doctor was saying, so the doctor urged her to undergo a medical check herself.

At work meetings, she had difficulty understanding when many things were said at once. To overcome the problem, she always tried to write down what was said and concentrated on immediately comprehending the discussions.

She said she continued to do her best and told herself with pride, “A child caring job bears a heavy responsibility, so no mistakes are permitted.”

However, she could not grasp what was silently expected of her in some situations at the school.

When she spoke about her condition to the operator, the representative repeatedly asked why she did not report it sooner. The talks made her feel that she was to blame.

She did not want to quit the job, but she ended up writing “because of personal reasons” in her resignation notice.

The following month, in July, her doctor told her that the representative’s request was “unjust.”

She then talked to a lawyer and learned about law to promote employment of disabled people.

She said she decided to file the lawsuit as an example for other people who might be forced to quit their jobs because of their disabilities and feel they cannot fight back.

Her eldest daughter, who also has developmental disabilities, could face similar frustrations in the future, the mother said.

She said she understands that some parents may not want their children put under the care of a disabled worker, and that the nursery school may want to avoid such a risk.

But she also said, “I want people to understand that we can work without any problems if we receive a little support.

“I hope there will be no discrimination, biases and misunderstandings concerning people with developmental disabilities,” she said. “I wish that a better working environment for everybody can be achieved.”

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