Question:
Is This Legal???
Recently I had a job interview at a big hospital near me. The Supervisor doing the interview started talking to me (about half way thru the interview) like the job was mine, and when could I start, and were the responsibilities of the job understood, and how good I'd be in this position. During the small talk at the end of the interview, I mentioned my WLS surgery. This woman's entire demeanor changed immediately. She ended the interview like she had a fire to get to, and told me I would hear about the job within a week, either by phone or mail. Well, I never heard a word... when I called back, I was told the job was given to another candidate with better qualifications. Ok, I can handle that, but I truly believe that if I hadn't told her about my WLS, the job would have been mine. Is this legal??? Is there any way I can look at my application to see if she disqualified me because of my WLS surgery? There are more jobs available at this hospital, and I don't want to waste my time interviewing, if this woman has written something negative on my application... help!!!!! — Karen D. (posted on May 26, 2003)
May 26, 2003
Hi Karen- I'm sorry you had such a bad experience with this job
application! No, it's not legal to discriminate against someone planning
WLS, but unless the interviewer is a total fool, she would never admit that
she did that. What about the chit-chat after the official interview? How
did the subject of WLS surgery come up? If she ASKED you (and if you could
get her to admit that she asked you) about any surgery, illness,
disabilities, etc, you would have a good case. (There are other questions
that are illegal to ask such as age, race, # of children but they really
don't seem to pertain to your situation.) I don't think she would write on
your application about the WL surgery issue because the hospital could get
sued, but maybe it's worth consulting a lawyer? My brother, who is obese
like me, has been out of work for a year and a half. It pains me to see
the unspoken discrimination he has been facing. The last interview he had,
they told him he didn't get the job because when he was asked about his
previous job, they said his answer was "too vague".....well, duh,
why didn't the interviewer say "could you tell me more about what you
did on your last job?". Best wishes to you, and I hope something that
you like comes along real soon :o)
— Mea A.
May 26, 2003
It is not legal to discriminate based on obesity, but I'm not sure about
wls status. BUT, I seriously doubt that she'd be dumb enough to put that
on your file. You'd have a very hard time proving that that's why you
didn't get the job. It stinks, and I don't know why your having wls was an
issue for her (was she MO?) Anyway, since I highly doubt your status is in
your file, I'd go ahead and apply for other jobs there. Maybe just don't
mention your wls until after you get hired. Good luck!
— [Deactivated Member]
May 26, 2003
Unfortunately it probably would be legal. Being Fat is not a protected
class like race, religeon, national origins, creed etc... The only option
is to be so obese you would qualify as an American with Disabilities. Even
if Fatness were a protected class, it doesn't seem like the interviewer was
making her decision based on you being fat. The interview went fine and
was positive until you mentioned surgery. What she was probably
thinking... "My God, this woman is going to start this job then be on
medical leave for a month or two.. She could have complications extending
her time off for even longer, then she will be on limited duties for a
while. Why should we have to deal with all this when there's many more
qualified candidates in the wings."
<p> I empathize with you and wish employers would be more sensitive
towards our goals to healthier life. But undergoing WLS is a big deal for
the new prospective employers who are in need of someone ASAP who will be
there working. Also WLS also brings the prospect of having to rehire
someone or pay for a temp, if the patient doesn't pull through. Now it
would be different if you had worked there for a bit and they invested
money to have you trained and you have a proven track history of
performance. They would be more willing to be accomodating since it would
not pay off to have you replaced. Well in any event, I'm sorry you ended
up losing a prospective new job because you were honest about your WLS.
But had you not been upfront it could have cost you your job later on down
the road.
<p>Take Care, Be Well, Be Happy!
— John T.
May 26, 2003
Hi, it's Mea again....I wanted to clarify something on my post earlier. As
I understand, WLS is done to correct our physical problems, including
obesity. The way I would take the discrimination in your case, Karen, is
in terms of the co-morbidities that WLS is designed to correct-Diabetes,
sleep apnea, etc. As all of us researching WLS surgery have been told,
this is not a cosmetic procedure. To me, it would have technically been
the same as if you'd mentioned you were having heart surgery, gall-bladder
removal, water-on-the knee removed, ANYTHING designed to improve your
health. I bet you would have gotten the same reaction from her about any
major surgery you mentioned, and I believe that illegal. But getting her
to admit to it is another story......:o)
— Mea A.
May 26, 2003
If I am reading your post right, you volunteered this information, in which
case nothing illegal happened on her end. Yes she is a snob and sees you
as some person that could not control her eating but to hell with her.
<p>While it would be very difficult I would suck it up and write her
a professional letter thanking her for her time and to please keep you in
mind for any other positions you may qualify for. You won't be working for
her so do what you need to get a job there, Most likely anyone else will
be supportive. If you are quite a ways out why is it necessary to bring
the WLS decision up. It helped you get healthier but it's not like a
handicap that your employer needs to know about.
<p>PS next time don't say anything until after you have the job and
have been working there a while. Unless you need some special
accommodations because of your WLS there is no need to factor this into the
picture. JMO I hope things work out okay.
— zoedogcbr
May 26, 2003
Was the interveiwer overweight or obese? When you mentioned it if they were
they may have been offended that maybe you were going to try to convert
them to the evil world of WLS...or if that was not the case then it might
possibly be from there past experiance with people who have surgery other
people in the office decide that they want surgery too and that leads to
people being out of work. If this woman was turned off by the fact that you
had WLS and she is the only one who interviews people for the hospitol I
would try the whole application process again and next time not mention the
WLS(she probably won't remember you or recognize you later)As far as this
being legal there is no way to prove that this is the reason you didn't get
the job and it will not be written on your application even if it was, or
even if your application is still there on file and not in the trash
somewhere. Hope this helps and do't worry you will find the right job with
the right people.
— S C.
May 26, 2003
Not sure if anyone thusfar has mentioned this...but if this woman was with
HR or is very familiar with HR practices, she could have seen a red flag
flying regarding the insurance cost premiums that her company pays (not to
mention the fact that it is a strike against someone who throws it out
there that they will be needing several weeks off right from the
beginning). As far as answering your question...you really don't have
anything to sue over. Possibly it was an personal judgement against
you...but I doubt it. In the future, avoid saying anything about your
surgery until you're on the payroll. Oh, and since its a big hospital, I'd
go ahead and try to find another available job there...although it might be
harder if she works in HR, rather than just being a supervisor in another
department. Good luck!
— Amy W.
May 26, 2003
Karen- When I worked as a personnel director, it was policy to never put
down on an application any personal opinion comments. If we did not hire
someone it was only because we found "someone with better
qualifications." Human Resources has to be very careful about what is
noted on an applicant's interview. In my place of business, we were not
even allowed to give a less than positive reason for a person to be
dismissed. Unless your interviewer is grossly incompetant, no notations
would have been entered and you would not have a case for discrimimation.
There is no way to tell why you did not get that job. There is much
mis-information out on WLS, so who knows what the interviewer thought. The
bottom line as previously stated, is the question of whether this person
being interviewed is a risk for needing time off often.
On a brighter note, big hospitals usually have many different people
conducting interviews. Each department sometimes have their own
interviewers. Go ahead and apply for any job that interests you. Many
times an interviewer sees so many people in a day that they are not going
to always recognize a previous applicant. Also as stated before, I would
not recommend talking about your WLS or anything else that is very
personal. If you are asked specifically if you have had WLS, you would
have cause for legal action. Sometimes sticking only to conversation about
the prospective position and how well you would do the job is the best
policy. Good luck in your job search.
— Judy K.
May 26, 2003
Thank you all so much for your comments... i'm the original poster, let me
explain a couple of things that i didn't make clear in my original
question. At the time of the interview, i was approximately 8 weeks
post/op. my size at the time was about a 20/22... the topic of WLS was
introduced by me... after she had mentioned one of her other girls in the
department was having a surgery of a different nature. what i wanted to do
(and probably a big blunder here) is let her know how healthy i am, and how
good i feel based on my WLS surgery. the interviewer was the supervisor of
the department where the job was available, not someone from HR, thank
God... i will grab the bull by the horns again and keep plugging away at
this hospital in the hopes of getting work there. by the way, i now wear a
size ten... so no one would know i've had the surgery.
— Karen D.
May 26, 2003
it would appear that your mentioning your weight loss surgery MIGHT have
had something to do with your being rejected for this job. did you mention
ANYTHING else, during the 'small talk' period which could ALSO be used as
an excuse (by the hospital) to not hire you?? if NOT, you very probably
were, in fact, discriminated against. however, proving it, to a court, is
another issue. essentially, you're in a position which is
hard-to-impossible to win. i'm so sorry that it happened to you (it's
happened to me, as well.... oh well...) while most forms of discrimination
are illegal, and most forms of bigotry are socially unacceptable, it seems
that 'fat bashing' is still alive and well....even though you are not fat,
obese, whatever, any longer. we seem to make many people 'nervous', by
association, at least. i'd doubt that there would be anything overtly
written on your application, however, it's quite possible that there would
be some coded notation which would relegate your applications along with
the unemployable applicants. i'd give it a shot, for one more
interview....and if you don't get the job, then, go back to the human
resources person, and inform them that you've documented both interviews,
along with the results and that you will be consulting a labor attorney.
however, the caveat i'd give you is that if you DO get a job offer after
that, the job is NOT a secure one.... while the 'squeaky wheel might get
the grease', it's also the first to be replaced, for dubious cause.
— tuxedoll
May 27, 2003
Almost every job interview I have had in the past 10 years they started
talking like I had the job. "When can you start, any planned
vacations coming up, etc." The last one I was at they even gave me
copies of the schedule and the sheets to request time off. I have given up
getting a decent job, because I don't present a good "public"
image. I am often OVERqualified for the jobs I interview for, but there is
always "a candidate whose qualifications better met our needs."
Keep trying, don't give up.
— badger411
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