Would you disclose?

[Beemo3780]

I recently went on a job interview for a health insurance company for a computer programmer job. Before the interview even started, they had me fill out this really lengthy application. The very last page asked if I had any disabilities with a very long list of things, a few which I have, but definitely wouldn't consider them disabilities. Auto-immune diseases (I have 2, EoE & arthritis), food allergies, and PTSD. I didn't know what to do, so I left it blank, didn't sign the last page and handed it to the interviewer. I haven't had to interview for jobs in like 10 years, but have never seen that being asked at an interview before, and I've worked in the tech dept of both hospitals and insurance companies before.

Would you disclose your PTSD at a job interview?

 

[NewBeginnings]

I am fairly certain it is not legal to ask about disabilities before an interview (possibly depends on which state) - unless it is revealing something about the applicant that would call snider them unable to perform but PTSD and computer programming??

CIA agent and PTSD - maybe relevant

That is a form of discrimination.

Opps didn't answer the question...

No - do not disclose PTSD prior to hiring unless it was necessary for special accommodation and you know they won't use it as a disadvantage.

 

[EveHarrington]

WTF? I really don't think that shit is legal!

 

[Deleted member 12723]

Do you really want to work for a place that may doing illegal stuff and getting away with it? I would try a different place. I cannot get a job no matter where I look so I do understand the importance of getting a good job. I wish you success. It seems that you did make the right choice for you.:hug:

 

[Kopykat]

I know I'm late on this but I wouldn't disclose that information unless it's absolutely necessary such as you needed an accommodation such as someone else had said.

 

[Fadeaway]

Not legal at all. What they are allowed to do is ask if you have the physical capacity to preform the job. Questions like, are you able to lift 25lbs or sit for long periods, but only if it is required for the job. Say it was a job for FedEx, they can ask you if you are able to lift 50lbs without assistance. They can not ask you if you have a bad back or bad knees.

 

[Beemo3780]

Meh, I didn't get the job anyway, but this does seem to be a normal thing with a lot of the jobs I've been applying to. I kinda wonder if it's because a lot of tech jobs require insane hours. They probably are looking for the most stable people they can find. It's not ok, and I'm going to keep leaving that part blank.

 

[NewBeginnings]

Hi -
Sorry you have to deal with this. There are 2 possibilities -1) According to the American with disabilities Act - employers (USA) many not ask if you have a disability including PTSD. You could report them to the employment board of the state.
And
2) some companies opt to have a separate government page asking about disabilities because if they hire you they may reach quotas on how many employees with disabilities they employ- not sure how this is separate but they ask everyone and it is often for access for tax breaks

 

[Beemo3780]

This wasn't just the one company doing this sort of thing either, I've applied to several jobs since this one, and they all have had the disability disclosure at the end. Yesterday, I was filling out an online application for a telecommuting data analyst job, and sure enough, the disclosure was at the end of the application. I clicked the box that said, "I prefer not to answer", and later in the day got an email from the company's HR team "inviting" me to complete that section, and they assured me that it would be kept confidential from managers if I were to be hired on. These are not small companies either, and are well known, a lot of them are national even global and have well over 1,000 employees.

I'm kind of in this weird position right now where I'm in school full time, I'm running an artsy business, but I really want to be in my career field. My husband wants me to hold off working until I get my degree, he says I take on too much, but I feel like crap because I'm not making close to the same amount I used to. There have been a couple times where he alone had to cover our mortgage, and it made me sick to my stomach because I need to be paying my half. I'm starting to feel like a failure.

I'm just really afraid that if I start disclosing my health issues up front, then I'll never get a high paying salary job again. I've never thought any of my health issues were disabilities either. PTSD, rheumatoid arthritis, auto-immune diseases, and food allergies are all listed. I have a heart deformity but that wasn't on the list. I'm not sure how any of these things would affect me working behind a computer, and with a telecommuting IT position, it seems even more absurd.

 

[scout86]

Does your state have an office or agency that deals with employment issues? It would be interesting to know what they have to say about this sort of thing. I can't imagine that all those companies are violating the law, but I was under the impression they can't ask stuff like that too. I've never been asked any if that stuff, but haven't filled out a job application years either. It really puts you in a bind, but knowing how it's going to be used.

I need to be paying my half

If the situation were reversed, how would you feel?

 

[Beemo3780]

Well, the situation has been reversed. I used to be the breadwinner of the household while my husband was studying to take the bar. He was just recently promoted at his law firm and now has the ability to cover all of our expenses, but it doesn't make it okay. I don't like not contributing my full half. After a really abusive marriage, I have a need to make sure I have my own money even if my current marriage is great and nothing like the past. I am very stubborn in where I like taking care of others, but I don't like anyone to have to take care of me.

I've already asked if this disclosure was illegal, and it's not. They aren't allowed to not hire you based upon your disability, but it makes no sense why they would even ask.

 

[scout86]

They aren't allowed to not hire you based upon your disability,

Yeah, like you could ever really PROVE why they didn't hire you! I wonder, on the other end of things, if there might be a problem if it turned out you needed some kind of accommodation for something you hadn't revealed on the application. The whole thing sounds too complicated.

I am very stubborn in where I like taking care of others, but I don't like anyone to have to take care of me.

I understand and relate to that feeling. But, it also reminds me of one of the funniest things my T has ever said to me (which also turned out to be a good point.) He said, "You might want to find a better way of thinking about that." He was talking about something completely different, but it was something where it hadn't occurred to me that changing how I looked at it was an option. It was. Not necessarily easy, open & shut, but, a lot of times, there ARE better ways of looking at things. It sounds like maybe your feelings about "paying your way" are based in old ideas and maybe they don't serve you as well right now as they have in the past. Maybe this is an opportunity to look at where that comes from and see if it's still the best way you can come up with to see the situation?