Employment Questionaire Questions

by Evie Dec 17, 2003 1:22AM PST

Hi All,

Given the discussion on the other thread re: drug arrests and how that might effect employment opportunities with an arrest on one's record, I got curious about another thing.

Many employers ask if someone has ever filed a workmen's comp claim. I wonder about the legality of such a question. My hubby really didn't have a choice for his -- company policy to file an "incident report" when he was injured and from there it automatically goes into the state's WC system once the injury was documented and treatment was certainly not optional.

Another question is regarding filing a sexual harrassment complaint (to weed out troublemakers?) as well as those who have had complaints filed against them. I'm thinking that unless this is taken to the level of formal lawsuit, it amounts to internal personel matters and couldn't be checked into anyway. But it would seem that someone filing a legit SH case could be unduly penalized when seeking future employment, as well as anyone ever sued even if they were exhonerated of the charges.

Seems in this internet age, with all the other liability issues, most employers are routinely running background checks anyway.

Thoughts?

Evie

Discussion is locked

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Re:Employment Questionaire Questions

by Mary Kay Dec 17, 2003 1:42AM PST

You bring up some very good points.They don't seem like questions that should be asked in this day and age.I was already in my sixties when I lost my job because of a buy out. I applied at a financial institution and was hired. There were 10 of us on a probationary period being trained. They came by with a one inch stack of papers, I kid you not, and said to sign them and turn them in by the end of the day. Most people just signed and turned them in. I asked the instructor if I could turn them in the next day as I didn't feel I'd had the chance to read them. She said well I guess it will be alright but nobody has asked before. There were several papers. I did not sign, Like one that said" I will not ever apply for a job at a competing organization", We were still under probation for this job and I didn't think I would keep that promise if necessary. I put the form in the middle of the rest. I worked there 10 years and nobody ever brought the subject up about the lack of a signature.

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Re:Re:Employment Questionaire Questions

by Roger NC Dec 17, 2003 2:38AM PST

There are some interesting conditions in some of those papers everyone signs without reading when applying for a job. I mentioned something at my last job and had people telling me they didn't sign any such thing.

Now maybe when they applied and I did the applications were different. But I bet most never read what they were signing.

A promise to not seek employment with a competitor? I wouldn't think that could be legal even if you signed it. Now disclosing information you learned on your current job even after going to work with someone else would be a different discussion.

roger

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As a condition of her severence package ...

by Evie Dec 17, 2003 2:53AM PST

... my sister had to sign some sort of similar thing for a period of time. I'm thinking this was the period the severence sum covered, but in consulting type work (which is what she is now doing on a temp basis) it's not totally unheard of.

Evie

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A cousin of mine once filed compliant with OSHA

by Roger NC Dec 17, 2003 2:35AM PST

over working in winter on overnight shift and being locked out of anywhere with heat for the entire shift, even breaks.

He went through an extensive training program an industry was running before they opened a new site. Finished the training, was complimented by the guy running it. Then he waited and waited for a contact about coming back. When he finally got up with someone and asked, was told his former employee's recommendation/evaluation was negative. Now he couldn't prove it, but that OSHA report incident was the only time he ever had real problems with the employer.

I suspect that because of the hassel OSHA regulations can be anyway, any employer would automatically move to the bottom of the list, anyone they discovered had ever complained to OSHA. If they didn't just shred the application completely.

roger

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Re: Employment Questionaire Questions

by Dave Konkel [Moderator] Dec 17, 2003 3:16AM PST

Hi, Evie.

OTOH, the background checks don't always show problems -- look at that "angel of death" nurse who had been terminated by two other hospitals where investigations couldn't prove charges, and they gave him a reference. All UTMB will now share with people is the dates of employment...
-- Dave K.
Speakeasy Moderator
click here to email semods4@yahoo.com

The opinions expressed above are my own,
and do not necessarily reflect those of CNET!

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UTMB?

by Roger NC Dec 17, 2003 4:03AM PST

Don't recognize the anagram.

And many employers now will only verify employment dates if called. No recommendation either way, no discussion of why severance of the employment, not even if it was by the employee's or the employer's choice.

Recent laws and legal rulings have made personnel records sacroscant, on any detail. There have been local cases of individuals accusing their employer (one branch or other of local government particularly) of unpaid overtime, prejudice against in terms of promotion, all sorts of violations.

The individual would go on tv local news with just a repetition of the charges of the employer mistreating him(her). The employer was limited to saying they could not discuss the matter, unless the employee would sign a legal waiver of privacy rights first.

Guess what? I never knew one that would agree to allow the company respond with facts from their file publically, even while continuing to use every opportunity for publicity regarding the mistreatment.

Some of them may have had legit complaints, but such a situation can appear to be opportunistic. Perhaps a real instance of injustice, but being exploited to blackmail the employer in the court of public opinion. Espcially when this group or the other became involved claiming a pattern of prejudice.

It almost certainly hurt any others trying to work problems out within the framework first.

roger

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Which really makes my point from another thread ...

by Evie Dec 17, 2003 4:50AM PST

... and the thread about arrests. If there is real malfeasance, it should be handled in the appropriate civil/criminal manner so that it cannot be covered up and will show up in a check.

Evie

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