More and more I am seeing posts from people who say in job interviews, they are being asked very personal questions, and someone in a different sub said she was given a pre- employment psychological profile and asked about her sexual orientation.
About 10 years ago I worked for a small firm in the DFW area. They sent out an email that ordered everyone to turn in to HR, a detailed list of all their 1) current or past health conditions, such as diseases 2) hospitalizations and surgeries you've had in your life time 3) how many times they had to see a doctor yearly for any reason 4) list of any medications you take and the dosages. It wasn't optional for us to give this information, we were demanded to turn it in. I'm not sure how many people did. I did not. I was later fired.
Needless to say, people's medical information can feel very personal to them and they may not want to divulge what kinds of medical issues they have, or what kinds of meds they take (Viagra, birth control, antibiotics for STDs, pregnancy related issues, I could go on and on.)
The reason given was that “we are shopping around for a new health insurance for the company and this information will help us in determining what kind of insurance we need to get for our employees”.
Has anyone else heard this same excuse from your employer? Also I learned (contrary to what many people believe) that it is legal for them to ask these questions, but not legal for them to use the answers to discriminate against anyone.