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I had one company spring this health screener on my with zero warning, which included such questions as whether I had ever been pregnant or made anyone pregnant

I had one company spring this health screener on my with zero warning, which included such questions as whether I had ever been pregnant or made anyone pregnant, and whether I had ever been depressed and how so. Very weird stuff, so I challenged it and HR responded that it was a required test for health and safety at work. It wasn't, it was some corporate type doing massive overreach into areas where they had no right to even ask.

Clubber 3y ago
I'm pretty sure the pregnant question is illegal in the US. It's an obvious discriminatory question. If we had a regulatory body worth a shit, they would get punished for it.
doubled112 3y ago
That seems insane to me. Making somebody else pregnant doesn't affect my health, so it doesn't make sense that way either. I would be tempted to look for a wedding ring, and answer with "your mother/wife one time, you should ask her about it" accordingly. I probably wouldn't take the job anyway.
- jldugger 3y ago
  > Making somebody else pregnant doesn't affect my health, so it doesn't make sense that way either But it might affect health insurance claims, and I'm guessing cheaper underwriting is the reason HR went along with it.
  - paledot 3y ago
    Cheaper underwriting, more expensive lawsuits. Pick your poison.
  - doubled112 3y ago
    Is it phrased that way because they can't ask if I have children? I don't completely understand what they intend to find out asking it that way. Impregnating somebody doesn't mean I have a kid, or even that somebody else. Even being pregnant doesn't result in children 100% of the time. Perhaps a history of fertility problems would jack up your insurance plan.
jldugger 3y ago
That sounds pretty bad as you present it. I have seen a state uni do a similar sounding kind of employee survey -- the point of which was not to violate individual privacy but to produce an aggregated survey to present to health insurance companies bidding on providing employees that benefit. I imagine there's a pretty huge incumbent bias there; the current provider has exact data on claims and they aren't sharing with the competition. And especially in the insurance industry, there's a concern about adverse selection and asymmetric information that I imagine could be cured or at least reduced with additional data.
000ooo000 3y ago
I've had the same thing happen. I challenged it on principle - why does a dev need a medical? But went to the centre anyway because I wanted the job. Once I saw the questionnaire and the consent to disclose form, I nope'd out. It wasn't a Dr evaluating me and saying 'fit' or 'unfit' for duty, it was a massive list of very invasive questions including questions about my parents' health, subtle pregnant or not questions, etc. Best of all, it was all forwarded to the company. Said no thanks and moved on.

Clubber 3y ago

I'm pretty sure the pregnant question is illegal in the US. It's an obvious discriminatory question. If we had a regulatory body worth a shit, they would get punished for it.

doubled112 3y ago

That seems insane to me. Making somebody else pregnant doesn't affect my health, so it doesn't make sense that way either. I would be tempted to look for a wedding ring, and answer with "your mother/wife one time, you should ask her about it" accordingly. I probably wouldn't take the job anyway.

jldugger 3y ago
> Making somebody else pregnant doesn't affect my health, so it doesn't make sense that way either But it might affect health insurance claims, and I'm guessing cheaper underwriting is the reason HR went along with it.
- paledot 3y ago
  Cheaper underwriting, more expensive lawsuits. Pick your poison.
- doubled112 3y ago
  Is it phrased that way because they can't ask if I have children? I don't completely understand what they intend to find out asking it that way. Impregnating somebody doesn't mean I have a kid, or even that somebody else. Even being pregnant doesn't result in children 100% of the time. Perhaps a history of fertility problems would jack up your insurance plan.

jldugger 3y ago

That sounds pretty bad as you present it. I have seen a state uni do a similar sounding kind of employee survey -- the point of which was not to violate individual privacy but to produce an aggregated survey to present to health insurance companies bidding on providing employees that benefit. I imagine there's a pretty huge incumbent bias there; the current provider has exact data on claims and they aren't sharing with the competition. And especially in the insurance industry, there's a concern about adverse selection and asymmetric information that I imagine could be cured or at least reduced with additional data.

000ooo000 3y ago

I've had the same thing happen. I challenged it on principle - why does a dev need a medical? But went to the centre anyway because I wanted the job. Once I saw the questionnaire and the consent to disclose form, I nope'd out. It wasn't a Dr evaluating me and saying 'fit' or 'unfit' for duty, it was a massive list of very invasive questions including questions about my parents' health, subtle pregnant or not questions, etc. Best of all, it was all forwarded to the company. Said no thanks and moved on.