Late Pregnancy New Job Advice

roselovebud · May 2016

Hi Ladies, I was hoping to find some advice about a new job that I was interviewed for. Now I'm 30 weeks along right now and when I was interviewed (three weeks ago) I was still sporting a viable bump, but with the dress I wore and the way I carry myself it could have been seen as a bloat. The talk of pregnancy never came up in the interview and I decided not to mention it unless I got the job offer. Well I got the call today that they want me for the job, but of course it's three weeks later and I'm 10 weeks away from delivery (if all goes well). Not to mention that their orientation doesn't start for another two weeks. Being this late in the pregnancy I feel really good, I would have no trouble with job and am very qualified for it and this would be a career position that I'd come back to. I'm looking for thoughts on when to come out with the words "oh btw I'm going to be giving birth in July". Do I wait until the ink is dry on the paperwork? Do I mention it now over the phone? I know it's all a matter of personal preference but I'm having a hard time weighing out the options. Thoughts?

allthingscozy · May 2016

Personally id be pissed if I hired someone to find out they hid the fact they will immediately go on maternity leave. I think it's something in good conscience at this point you should disclose

joleri23 · May 2016

You should definitely tell them now.

lizhurt · May 2016

You absolutely need to disclose this right away, before any ink touches paper. As someone who works in staffing, it is considered extremely unprofessional not to disclose time off needed (especially extended time such as *duh* maternity leave) before you are offered. You should have been forthcoming in the interview, but since that is out the window already, you need to tell them immediately so they can consider whether or not to rescind the offer.

sunshineandwhiskey · May 2016

If they are an EOE they can not NOT hire you because you are pregnant. So, if you tell them you are and they revoke the offer - technically thats a big no-no for them and can get them in trouble. You kind of put them in a tough situation. I agree with PP that you have to tell them ASAP. I'm interviewing for a job on the 20th and I am telling them if they do not bring it up (which legally they can't). Better to be honest.

rnyland1 · May 2016

If you already have an official job offer in writing then I would tell them. Unlike some of the other PP's I wouldn't tell an employer until after getting an offer in writing, because let's face it pregnancy discrimination is a real thing that does happen, and you're not legally required to tell them anything about your personal life in an interview. I don't think that makes you seem unprofessional... That way, they cannot rescind the offer once they find out you are pregnant...because if they did, then you might have a pregnancy discrimination case on your hands. They can't rescind an offer because they find out you are pregnant.

Kellyj103 · May 2016

I agree with PPs, at this point in the game it is extremely unprofessional not to disclose. They're hiring someone because they're in need for someone to be there now but you're going to leave at some point once again leaving them and they're going to have to find someone else. I found out I was pregnant the day after I signed my contract, I let them know right after first tri and gave them plenty of time to figure out what they were going to do while I was gone.

coffeeandcupcakes · May 2016

Backbypopulardemand said:

Personally id be pissed if I hired someone to find out they hid the fact they will immediately go on maternity leave. I think it's something in good conscience at this point you should disclose

^this. Try to put yourself in the hiring managers position. If you needed someone for a job and were counting on them, it'd be a set back to have them go on leave immediately after starting. Even though it's illegal for them to rescend the offer, it might start things off on the wrong foot with your boss.

Also check to see about benefits. My company has a 60 day waiting period for insurance eligibility and longer for FMLA.

MrsRo731 · May 2016

I would definitely tell them right away - you don't want to start your employment off like that. I think it would taint your qualifications and character if you were to hide it until after the papers were signed.

Heathereaddy · May 2016

I was in a somewhat similar position recently where I was verbally offered a job while 6 months or so pregnant. I did not disclose during my interview bc yes, pregnancy discrimination is real and because I knew I wouldn't be starting the job anyway until September and wouldn't need maternity leave. I did however let them know once I received the verbal offer, before anything was signed and I suggest you do the same. Mainly bc you don't want to start off on the wrong foot at a new job and it would give them time to decide how to deal with your absence.

roselovebud · May 2016

I see both sides of this, the honest side and the pregnancy discrimination side. I think I was having a terrible time with it because I wanted to be upfront and honest but before the interview I had so many people telling me not to mention, the legal aspects and of course the discrimination possibility. I should have gone with my instinct and mentioned it before and since I didn't, I ended up putting both myself and the company in a tough spot.

So I just called and let them know, we will see how they want to proceed.

Thank you for the advice, I'm pretty sure you all just put into words what I already knew and didn't want to admit.

allthingscozy · May 2016

Glad you were able to get the advice you needed just also wanted to encourage you to participate in the other threads this community likes the mantra of giving and getting support

I'm sure you lots to offer so please know you are welcome to participate and encouraged to do so

PootsDragon · May 2016

Glad you were able to get an offer and then disclose your pregnancy. I disagree with advice that it's unprofessional not to disclose a pregnancy during an interview. I think disclosing personal information you're not obligated to disclose during an interview leaves you open to discrimination. Why would you leave it up to the hiring manager wether they prefer to discriminate against you or not behind closed doors? At least with an offer on the table you have some leverage and can contact a lawyer if the employer chooses to be unprofessional and try to pass you up for a position you're qualified and well-suited for. If they're judging you based on your professional abilities and qualifications the pregnancy should be irrelevant- it's against the law for them to take it into consideration and I personally wouldn't leave myself open to that.

DataJane · May 2016

I also think it is fine that you didn't tell them in the initial interview. I've been on various hiring committees and if there are multiple qualified candidates people end up kind of casting around for a reason to pick one person and disqualify another so that definitely could have been used against you. Once they've decided that they feel you are the best candidate they are much more likely feel like it's worth accommodating you, if that makes sense. If you had accepted the job and shown up 32 weeks pregnant without telling them or discussing how you can make it work then that would be a whole different story.

huskypuppy14 · May 2016

lizhurt said:

You absolutely need to disclose this right away, before any ink touches paper. As someone who works in staffing, it is considered extremely unprofessional not to disclose time off needed (especially extended time such as *duh* maternity leave) before you are offered. You should have been forthcoming in the interview, but since that is out the window already, you need to tell them immediately so they can consider whether or not to rescind the offer.

June lurker here...

If you work in staffing you should know that rescinding an offer because someone is pregnant is "duh" illegal.
OP did nothing wrong in not saying anything in her interview, because she is not required to disclose any personal information like that.

A co worker of mine interviewed last summer and we took forever deciding because there was another candidate some other people in my company were interested in as well. When my company finally gave co worker an offer, she told them she was having a baby in a couple months and could she start in December. We were looking for someone for almost a year (specialized field) so waiting a couple more months was not a big deal.

Now if the OP lied in the interview, that's a different story. If this company needs someone immediately and the summer is going to be busy for them, there are ways to phrase that in an interview. Like "We have a lot of projects coming up, and this summer is really busy, will that be a problem"? If OP said, oh no problem at all, then she is being dishonest. I'm giving OP the benefit of the doubt, and assuming that's not the case.

ninji15 · May 2016

I just started a new job, I disclosed the information after the offer. It's a very physical job and I cannot do it all right now, they understood. I think it makes you look more trust worthy if anything. You don't want to work for a company that will not hire you for something like pregnancy anyway, really.

nativetexan512 · May 2016

roselovebud lurking from Sept '16

You did the right thing to wait to disclose until you got the offer. I am in the same situation, and consulted multiple friends from HR and an employment attorney, and all told me to wait to disclose till I had an offer. If you disclose early (not because you look pregnant but by saying "hey I am pregnant"), it puts the employer in a bad position where they have information that shouldn't be used in the hiring decision, but now it's hard to ignore.

I hope you are able to negotiate benefits and time off - good luck and congrats on your offer!!

lizhurt · May 2016

While it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of pregnancy, it is not illegal to decline to offer someone based on excessive time off needed. That is one of our first questions in the pre-screening process of staffing, to find out if the candidate is going to need time off. We won't hire anyone who needs even a week off, so maternity leave would be out of the question. We also do mostly contract staffing, so it may be different for people hiring for permanent positions, but I still feel it is unethical/dishonest not disclose in the interview process (or before) that you will be expecting to take maternity leave within a month or two of being hired. Being evasive about disclosure and then crying discrimination just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

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