When to tell potential employer about pregnancy?

[mr.bungle]

And not a soul in any company asked or even said they would ever ask such a question. Op asked should she tell at the interview. that's other posters imagination running amok

Do you take everything you read on the internet so seriously? Google "troll post". Jeez!

 

[MickeySP]

You seem to be taking this awfully personally. No one said any such thing.

it wasn't til that statement, yeah kinda get when someone implies people who aren't in their profession, any profession.are less than it irks me.

As my father said "doesn't matter what you do as long as you are happy & respect the person digging the ditch as much as the person healing another"


Now as a previous poster said DONE!

 

[bcla]

1) it is not always 1 or 2 or even 3 days. This summer it is 3 evening shifts, 4 midnights each week. I am now on the downside of a 16 as we speak. This will continue until at least Sept or Oct due to retirements.
She is a teacher so comparing a govt agency to a "for profit" co is kinda mute.

2) again you don't seem to get, it is the LAW!!!!! Unfortunately employers get to do most of the discrimination, I have yet to here a CEO being abused by the janitor. There are laws, why do think most CEO's & COs are not in jail fopr some of the stuff they pull. Personally I think if a CO does the wrong thing they should put the responsible manager in jail.



And against the law.

After the Enron debacle, there was a law(Sarbanes-Oxley) passed that made CEOs and CFOs criminally liable for putting out deceptive information in public financial reports. I was at a startup that almost went public, but in our required SEC filings we were required to disclose that we lost a major customer. We didn't have our IPO, which would have put our company on a good position with cash, and where eventually that lack of cash meant we started laying off workers, including myself.

In the end, I remember the CEO apologizing to me personally, but saying that he didn't want the criminal liability for proving false information.

 

[kamik86]

I am relatively new at hiring... I have been involved in only 4 interviews - only 3 of which would actually have worked with me as I'm just now getting to the point in my career while I am hiring people. I say this to make because I have actually never had the issue come up.

However I have had the situation where we had two candidates that both on paper had pros and cons that put them pretty equal and the decision on who to pick almost came down to which one I liked better and thought would fit in better with the group we already had. So in that type of situation I could see where even if I was trying not to let it sway me knowing any information about a candidate that would make my job harder down the road would sway me to pick the other one, even if it was mostly subconsciously.

 

[Christine]

I am relatively new at hiring... I have been involved in only 4 interviews - only 3 of which would actually have worked with me as I'm just now getting to the point in my career while I am hiring people. I say this to make because I have actually never had the issue come up.

However I have had the situation where we had two candidates that both on paper had pros and cons that put them pretty equal and the decision on who to pick almost came down to which one I liked better and thought would fit in better with the group we already had. So in that type of situation I could see where even if I was trying not to let it sway me knowing any information about a candidate that would make my job harder down the road would sway me to pick the other one, even if it was mostly subconsciously.

Hiring manager here also. As another poster upthread said, we often get 10 candidates who are equally qualified and can do the job equally well. My job as a manager is to make sure the work gets done with as little disruption as possible. We have an extensive, 1 year long training process. To have someone live in the middle of that is very disruptive. I get that some things can't be controlled but if know up front there might be issues, for whatever reason, I won't pick that person if I have nine other equally qualified candidates.

That said, if I have 10 fabulous candidates and during the interviews, the pregnant candidate is above the rest, impresses me, and looks like a good fit, I'd hire here and deal with the disruption for the long term gain. If she is NOT head and shoulders above, but equal, then I may not. Maternity leaves are tough to work around in my business. Very hard on the other team members because we cannot temporarily fill.

 

[Mizzoufan]

Hiring manager here also. As another poster upthread said, we often get 10 candidates who are equally qualified and can do the job equally well. My job as a manager is to make sure the work gets done with as little disruption as possible. We have an extensive, 1 year long training process. To have someone live in the middle of that is very disruptive. I get that some things can't be controlled but if know up front there might be issues, for whatever reason, I won't pick that person if I have nine other equally qualified candidates.

That said, if I have 10 fabulous candidates and during the interviews, the pregnant candidate is above the rest, impresses me, and looks like a good fit, I'd hire here and deal with the disruption for the long term gain. If she is NOT head and shoulders above, but equal, then I may not. Maternity leaves are tough to work around in my business. Very hard on the other team members because we cannot temporarily fill.

So with you being a hiring manager, do you wanan be told at the interview or at the hiring.

 

[Christine]

So with you being a hiring manager, do you wanan be told at the interview or at the hiring.

Yes, I would want to be told. I understand why someone would be hesitant though. I am a woman and have been pregnant and employed before. In fact, I had to change jobs when I was at the end of my first trimester. I did tell the employer during the interview. Mainly because I had horrible morning sickness and was having problems. I just sleep better at night when I'm up front. They still hired me but some probably would not have.

 

[MickeySP]

Yes, I would want to be told. I understand why someone would be hesitant though. I am a woman and have been pregnant and employed before. In fact, I had to change jobs when I was at the end of my first trimester. I did tell the employer during the interview. Mainly because I had horrible morning sickness and was having problems. I just sleep better at night when I'm up front. They still hired me but some probably would not have.[/QUOTE

Luckily you never met the HR people here. I just don't understand the lack of ethics some are proud of. Guess having actual standards is an unusual thing.

 

[gwynne]

Luckily you never met the HR people here. I just don't understand the lack of ethics some are proud of. Guess having actual standards is an unusual thing

Many are answering as their personal opinion. They aren't saying they would ask...
I think they get what is legal and what is not.

 

[Skywalker]

As opposed to the veracity of the HR people that have posted here, who have clearly stated they have no compulsion to lie about not hiring a pregnant person?

Actually, I appreciate the fact that people can come here and have an honest discussion. It is good and helpful to know what goes on in the "real world" of HR decisions. Yes, everyone gets that it's "THE LAW!!!!!" and that you abide by it, but the fact is there is always some subjective deciding going on when it comes to people and their fit for the job. Always. This is just one more consideration and might negatively affect the company and again, I for one appreciate the honesty people are showing in sharing with their fellow disboarders.

And I don't even know what your tirade was concerning other people being "LESS THAN!!!" teachers. I can't even contort my mind to get that out of Teresa Pitman's post lol.

I get that your opinions are strong and that you are clearly Captain Awesome, but please stop trying to be the HR Police.

 

[mom2rtk]

it wasn't til that statement, yeah kinda get when someone implies people who aren't in their profession, any profession.are less than it irks me.

As my father said "doesn't matter what you do as long as you are happy & respect the person digging the ditch as much as the person healing another"


Now as a previous poster said DONE!

You must be really good at reading between lines.

I sure didn't read it that way. And I don't think anyone else did either.

 

[SirDuff]

I honestly think I understood EXACTLY what she meant.

"In other jobs, you hire someone for a year and so the co-workers of the person on maternity leave are not overburdened, and the person hired for the year benefits because they now have a year's experience that can help them get other work."

How do you think that statement reads - as I & many others here are in "other jobs" we are just not the same as teachers. We are far more replaceable and OH BOY we get to get some experience that might help us get other work!!!

Actually, I am current back-filling a maternity leave and, yes, the fact that I'm getting that experience is fantastic! It is a level up from my normal role (I'm doing the backfill within my normal company). Since it was a one-year position, I had an advantage as an internal candidate (compared to competing for a permanent role), so it was slightly easier for me to get (admittedly, I have no idea who I competed against). Once this contract ends, I'll have it on my CV, which, when a permanent role at this level (here or elsewhere) comes up, will be a huge advantage to me (compared to applying without the experience). So, I get (and totally agree with) the PP's post. I would not have had this had the person normally in this role only taken four to six weeks off.

I really don't get where you see the PP as saying that we (non-teachers) are "far more replaceable" or anything negative towards non-teachers from that post.

 

[lustergirl]

Most likely, yes, the man would be let go, after 90 days, if he needed extended leave for treatment.

If a woman is hired and then becomes pregnant within 90 days, no, she wouldn't be fired, but it probably would be wise to wait until 120 or more days in to inform the company. In the case of the OP, yes, if after being hired she discloses she'll need to go out on leave very soon, she probably would be let go at the end of the probationary period.

Blatant discrimination? Perhaps so. It's done within the letter of the law if not the spirit of it.

Ever heard of the FMLA act? The man wtih cancer can take off time and not be penalized. If you aren't following these rules then you are breaking the law.

 

[ambgoph]

Just to be clear...FMLA is only available after a person has worked twelve months with the company. The company also has to have at least 50 employees for a person to be eligible.

 

[Rhombus]

Ever heard of the FMLA act? The man wtih cancer can take off time and not be penalized. If you aren't following these rules then you are breaking the law.

It's not breaking any law if the man or any other employee has been there less than our 90 day probationary period. Ever potential hire is informed of this period.

 

[lustergirl]

Just to be clear...FMLA is only available after a person has worked twelve months with the company. The company also has to have at least 50 employees for a person to be eligible.

You are right. I was thinking of an employee that was already established within the company. I personally would not want to work for some of these companies that are so callous in their thinking.

 

[lustergirl]

It's not breaking any law if the man or any other employee has been there less than our 90 day probationary period. Ever potential hire is informed of this period.

I guess my personal feelings would get in the way and would find that firing a person that has been told that they have cancer is a bit callous.

I was out for an extended period of time last year, five months to be exact. My employer was very understanding and my job was waiting for me when I came back.

 

[ZellyB]

So with you being a hiring manager, do you wanan be told at the interview or at the hiring.

I'm not the person you asked, but I am a hiring manager. I do not want to be told at the interview. I do not want there to be any opportunity for someone to come back and say that I did not choose them because they were pregnant and frankly, I don't want that to be part of my determining factor. Yes, covering for maternity leaves is difficult, but I don't want to pass over someone I would have otherwise chosen because of that.

 

[sam_gordon]

Everyone be honest for a second...

You're hiring for A position. You get 100's of resumes. You find the top 10 and interview them. After the interview, you find three candidates you'd be happy with. One of the candidates has volunteered they're pregnant and due at the time of your next big project. With everything else being equal, do you:

1) Hire one of the other two candidates?
2) Hire the pregnant candidate?

I would hope if the pregnant candidate is that much better than the others, you'd hire them, but in this scenario, they're not. So, three equal candidates, but one is pregnant. Can you honestly say that wouldn't factor into your decision?

 

[gwynne]

I'm not the person you asked, but I am a hiring manager. I do not want to be told at the interview. I do not want there to be any opportunity for someone to come back and say that I did not choose them because they were pregnant and frankly, I don't want that to be part of my determining factor. Yes, covering for maternity leaves is difficult, but I don't want to pass over someone I would have otherwise chosen because of that.

Makes good sense. In this particular case, I'm guessing by the due date the OP is 18 or 19 weeks along. That's kind of at the point when some start to show.
So it would be easy to ignore this issue it in the early months, who would know?
I'm not sure what you do when it's obvious. If she starts to mention it, do you stop her and say, uh-uh, we aren't allowed to talk about any health issues in the interview process?
I am curious. It's a sticky issue.