0 The Legal Remedy for Professional Discrimination (Our Next 100 Years)
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Dynamic Chiropractic – January 1, 1999, Vol. 17, Issue 01

The Legal Remedy for Professional Discrimination (Our Next 100 Years)

By Paul Kell
I've heard both PIs and attorneys say, "Hospitals can hire whom they want and there is legally nothing you can do about it."

Chiropractors need to learn from other victims of professional discrimination.

Take, for example, clinical social workers in California (psychologists and marriage, family and child counselors). Because of the efforts of California state legislator Richard Leslie, a former attorney and marriage/family counselor, clinical social workers now enjoy public-sector employment with the state of California. Mr. Leslie refused to accept the barrier that allowed social workers in public-sector employment but excluded clinical social workers, despite the favorable research findings on clinical social workers. Sound familiar?

Mr. Leslie introduced legislation to break through the discriminatory barriers that held an economic stranglehold on his specialty. We can parallel this situation with chiropractic's relationship to the PT profession. Mr. Leslie has shown by example that there is room in hospitals for DCs and PTs.

The chiropractic profession might consider reviewing this groundbreaking action (state of California family code sec. 8502 a,b) to clearly understand and get a new perspective on the issues of public-sector employment.

I keep asking myself how one health profession can legislate their way into the public workplace, while DCs somehow believe they can't. Our profession and patients deserve the same entitlements that MDs and PTs enjoy at our state tax-supported hospitals.

Our graduates are needed throughout the public sector, just as are physicians, therapists and radiographic technicians. I am offering copies of the psychologist's antidiscrminatory legislation. Send a self-addressed envelope to: Paul Kell, DC, 4305 Gesner St., #110, San Diego, CA 92117.

Let's enter the new millennium with a super public employment profile that our patients and our tax dollars will be proud to support.

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