Employment law question

[Anonymous]

So I've been looking for a job recently and I have a gap in my resume due to staying home with the kids. On my resume, I say "left employment due to birth of child" and that's the only time I ever mention my kids. So the other day I didn't get the job I interviewed for (I got through two rounds of interviews) and when I spoke to hr on the phone, she said that they went with the other candidate, but maybe it's better for me anyway because they would like to consider me for a different position within the organization that doesn't require any travel. I was really surprised at this since at no time did I ever say that travel was a problem. It was only 4 or 5 times a year for a weekend and I explicitly told them at the interview that it's fine. I am just curious, does that sound like they didn't hire me because I have young children? Also, I've been asked on a whole separate interview how I planned to pick up my kids from daycare if I had to work a long day. Thanks for your thoughts!

[Anonymous]

It sounds more to me like they didn't think you were the best applicant for the position you interviewed for, but that they thought you would probably be good for a different position. It is as simple as that. She probably told you that the second position did not require travel in an attempt to make you feel better about not getting the first one.

If they didn't want to hire you because you had young children, they wouldn't want to hire you for ANY job. If you are not offered even an interview for this other position, you could reconsider.

[Anonymous]

Could be that they didn't hire you because you have kids. Certainly sounds like they were concerned about your ability to meet your job requirements given your parenting duties, since they said you might like a position without travel. Federal law protects against sex discrimination, which this could be, if they hire men who are parents but not women who are parents. If you are interested, you could check out www.eeoc.gov for more information about employment discrimination. It seems that you do not discuss your kids at all during interviews, but it's on your resume so employers know you have kids. You could consider taking that off your resume, although it leaveas a gap in your employment history. Hard to know which is worse. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I think (a) HR was extremely stupid to put the rejection in the way that it was put, i.e., this second job is better for you because it doesn't have travel, and that person needs to be re-educated or fired about how to break bad news; however (b) you don't have any idea why the person who made the selection decided as they did; and (c) you can't extrapolate from this offhand remark that the HR person's thinking was the selector's thinking; and (d) the second job may actually be a good job so try to find out more.

[Anonymous]

"Also, I've been asked on a whole separate interview how I planned to pick up my kids from daycare if I had to work a long day."

That's illegal.

But hard to respond to.

I would say "I'm surprised that you're asking me that, but I'll simply say that I have coverage for my children like any professional does."

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your thoughts. I don't plan to pursue anything, I was just getting this feeling like my kids were factoring in to their decisions and wanted an objective take. I am now considering taking the chance with just the two year gap but then they might ask me at the interview about the gap and I'll have to tell them about my kids anyway (I always try to avoid talking about kids but the interviewers somehow bring it up, like with the day care question or just "we're a family here, so tell me a little bit about yourself. I see you have kids". It kind of strikes me as disingenuous. Maybe I'm overly sensitive about it but DH recently went on an interview and no one asked him how he planned to pick his kids up from day care . Sorry, just venting now

[Anonymous]

13:52 has the right response for that kind of question, which is illegal. Or if someone asks again about daycare, you could always say that your husband worries about those kinds of things in your family!

[Anonymous]

Any recruiting/job coaching experts out there (or just folks who have done a lot of hiring) who could tell me why OP should or shouldn't put "birth of child" on her resume? My first thought was to tell her to leave that off. I get that it is a gap, but I think putting it there opens the door for this kind of questioning.

It's a tough tension because on the one hand, any job I interview for I would want to be reasonable about things like daycare pick up, etc. but I also wouldn't want to take myself out of the running because they are biased about me having a kid. My current employer is not known for being super family friendly or flexible, but because my boss is so flexible and so many two income moms and dads work in my department, it has become the norm for the hall to empty for daycare pick up at 5 or 5:30, for people to miss work because of sick kids occasionally, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Also, I've been asked on a whole separate interview how I planned to pick up my kids from daycare if I had to work a long day."

That's illegal.

But hard to respond to.

I would say "I'm surprised that you're asking me that, but I'll simply say that I have coverage for my children like any professional does."

Asking a question like that in not illegal, it is stupid. It could be used as evidence of bias agaInst an applicant due to family obligation, but the question itself is not actionable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So I've been looking for a job recently and I have a gap in my resume due to staying home with the kids. On my resume, I say "left employment due to birth of child" and that's the only time I ever mention my kids. So the other day I didn't get the job I interviewed for (I got through two rounds of interviews) and when I spoke to hr on the phone, she said that they went with the other candidate, but maybe it's better for me anyway because they would like to consider me for a different position within the organization that doesn't require any travel. I was really surprised at this since at no time did I ever say that travel was a problem. It was only 4 or 5 times a year for a weekend and I explicitly told them at the interview that it's fine. I am just curious, does that sound like they didn't hire me because I have young children? Also, I've been asked on a whole separate interview how I planned to pick up my kids from daycare if I had to work a long day. Thanks for your thoughts!

You may be reading more into the travel comment. Most people, with or without kids, would rather have a position that does not require travel. Plus people with kids in this area travel all the time. I doubt the kids were an issue for that job.

Someone asking about day care during an interview may, however, be showing a tendency toward bias.

[Anonymous]

You didn't ask this, but you should take that disclaimer off of your resume. If you feel the need to address the employment gap, put a short sentence in your cover letter. Leave it off the resume.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Also, I've been asked on a whole separate interview how I planned to pick up my kids from daycare if I had to work a long day."

That's illegal.

But hard to respond to.

I would say "I'm surprised that you're asking me that, but I'll simply say that I have coverage for my children like any professional does."

Asking a question like that in not illegal, it is stupid. It could be used as evidence of bias agaInst an applicant due to family obligation, but the question itself is not actionable.

I disagree. Unless they ask every candidate, it is per se actionable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Also, I've been asked on a whole separate interview how I planned to pick up my kids from daycare if I had to work a long day."

That's illegal.

But hard to respond to.

I would say "I'm surprised that you're asking me that, but I'll simply say that I have coverage for my children like any professional does."

Asking a question like that in not illegal, it is stupid. It could be used as evidence of bias agaInst an applicant due to family obligation, but the question itself is not actionable.

I disagree. Unless they ask every candidate, it is per se actionable.

Actionable as what or under what statute? No discrimination has occurred when no employment action has been taken. Unless there is some specific statute in your jurisdiction thatprohibts asking the question, it is not actionable. Moreover, even if it were, what damage claim should anyone possibly have?

[Anonymous]

^^ Um, I think what they're getting at is the lack of getting the job is the adverse employment action.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^ Um, I think what they're getting at is the lack of getting the job is the adverse employment action.

No they weren't. The poster I was responding to said that asking the question was "per se actionable." The discussion was about whether it was illegal to ask the question about daycare, which did not even occur in the interview that resulted in not getting a job.

Somebody appears to believe that it is illegal for an employer to ask a question about daycare pick-up. It is not.