How do you handle job interviews?

I really hate keeping the information from a potential employer, but if you tell them, your chances of getting hired go down fast. It's illegal to not hire you because you have a chronic illness, but if an employer knows before an offer is made, there is really nothing you can do to prove that they did not hire you because you have UC.

I was an independent contractor for a company for 6 months. I tried to keep it from them, but I was still too sick and I had to eventually tell them. Guess what -- they did not hire me as a permanent employee.

As for a former boss telling a potential new boss, that violates HIPPA AND is potentially actionable for damages if the new employer does not hire you. As I said, it is illegal not to hire you simply because you have UC as long as you can do the essential functions of the job.

Most of this is Federal law and should apply to all states in the U.S. Having said that, this is strictly for informational purposes and not legal advice. Please contact a lawyer in your state, or do some additional research. (Sorry -- I have to disclaim everything even if I am right.Silly, huh?)

If you are in TX and have some questions, I'll try to get you pointed in the right direction.

There are any number of things one probably should not volunteer during a job interview, and UC is one of them. I have never been asked, and about the only thing even remotely close would be something along the lines of "Can you lift X number of pounds in accordance with your job duties?" I would think it's inviting a lawsuit just to ask, but things like HIV, Cancer, and the like would be much more worrisome for an employer.

If one is going through a really awful divorce, don't volunteer that. If you own guns, don't volunteer that. If you're a swinger, don't volunteer that.

I've been on an interview panel the past week, and health issues are NOT something we've asked about and NOT something we care about. One guy did volunteer that his 10 year old daughter suffers from a disease which will likely kill her before she is 20. It's a big job change, and he wants something with regular hours. I was able to tune it out at the time and stick to the interview questions and how good of a fit he would be, but that night and the next morning I cried about it.