new employee health screening--will they find out i'm pregnant?

[Anonymous]

I started a job (I work part-time) in mid-August, and found out in early September that I'm required to have an "employment physical." I scheduled the appointment for early October, but had to reschedule, and nothing was available until early November. Last week I found out that I am pregnant (probably conceived in mid-Sept). I had no plans to tell my employers til after the holidays, because I want them to be totally confident in my work before I spring this on them. I plan to return to work after a 12-16 week maternity leave.

Sooo...what the heck happens at an "employment physical"? Will they do bloodwork? Do I have to tell them I'm pregnant? What if they want to do a TB test or something? I guess I'm a feeling a little annoyed about the whole situation, because while I know that due to my line of work, my employer believes they have a right to certain health information about me, but I tend to be VERY private about that kind of stuff.

Anybody in Human Resources out there who can help me?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Interesting situation. I'm not an HR person, but I'm pretty sure they can't discriminate against you because of this. Will the pregnancy keep you from fulfilling your work duties (e.g. do you do heavy lifting etc. as part of your job)?

One thing to remember by the way is that they are not obligated to give you the time off for maternity leave since you haven't been there for at least a year. The Family and Medical Leave Act doesn't kick in until 1 year of employment. That happened to me, and luckily my employer was flexible and understanding.

[Anonymous]

OP here--thanks for the quick response. I work in social services so there is nothing in my job description that the pregnancy will interfere with. You're totally right about the FMLA stuff. I'm not a salaried employee (currently doing contract work, I only get paid for the hours I bill) so I am hoping that they will be open to me taking a break and picking up where I left off after maternity leave. So far I've gotten lots of positive feedback about my work so, fingers crossed on that one!

[Anonymous]

I had to get a physical screening too, buy it was because I interacted with animals on a daily basis.

I did not get blood work nor do a urine test, but I did have to go through a TB test and get rabies shots. In addition, my boss was trying to get me to accept the small pox shot too (I drew the line there!).

In addition, there were also "harmless" things - I had to a vision and a hearing test and my weight was checked.

So, I guess it depends on what exactly your doctor/employer is screening you for. Obviously, in my case a pregnancy (I wasn't preg. at the time) would've been important information. But for you, if it is "simple" routine stuff that is non invasive than no worries.

Can you simply ask the doc./receptionist what exactly it entails? Is it more of a general health screening (in which case you might be able to get some written statements - blood pressure, weight, etc.) from your GP?

Is this directly for your job or for qualifying you for their health insur. policy (any predisposition clauses)?

[Anonymous]

I'm a SAHM now, but used to be a recruiter for a company that required pre-employment physicals. My company did not do bloodwork. We did tested urine, hearing, blood pressure, vision and weight. This was all because it was a manufacturing environment and the company wanted baseline info on all employees. I've talked to lots of HR people and I've never heard of any company taking blood.

[Anonymous]

OP here, thanks for all the info! I'm wondering if when they take urine, they will just screen for drugs, or will there be "evidence" of pregnancy? I will also research whether TB tests are safe during pregnancy, and definitely call the clinic to see what it entails. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Unless your doctor is actually part of the place of employment, I am fairly sure they need to keep your pregnancy confidential, since I assume it is not part of the regular screening...

[Anonymous]

Tb tests are definitely safe during pregnancy. Most employment physicals are very brief and do include the Tb screening if you are working with people. They basically need to rule out that you have any communicable diseases. I wouldn't worry about the pregnancy too much but if they ask, I wouldn't lie.

[Anonymous]

OP here, thanks for the additional info. I have to go to the Occupational Health center at Inova (which is a pain, cuz I live in DC!), so it won't be my regular doctor.