I have written how hard it is for those convicted of felonies to find employment. A recent article sheds light on the plight of these individuals. The article sheds light on the number of disenfranchised persons who can’t find employment and are left with little choice but to participate as human Guinea pigs in drug tests. What I thought was interesting is the number of Hispanic’s in the southwest who are involved in these studies. These are mostly individuals who can’t find employment because they are left out of the employment market because of a past felony. However in my experience another group who can’t find employment are those who are injured at work but can’t get proper medical care (because Texas does not require Worker’s Compensation) or are too disabled to work but not disabled enough to qualify for social security disability (or not qualified because they have not worked in the US long enough). Fired and injured workers in El Paso have many hurdles when it comes to employment. A work injury can devastate the lives of those living in in El Paso.
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/05/08/476797735/professional-guinea-pigs-can-make-a-living-testing-drugs?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20160508