Whether to mention a pregnancy in a job interview

Dear Bob …

I have a real ethical dilemma and would appreciate any advise. Two weeks ago I was notified that the company I worked for for the last eight years is closing down. It was an “effective immediately” kind of a notice. A week later I found out I am expecting.

I held a management position with that company and I have lots of experience. Naturally, the kind of job I will be looking for is not an entry level.

My problem: how can I honestly sell myself to a company without telling them I am actually only going to be around for 7-8 months and then out on maternity leave? (I live in Canada where maternity leave is 3-6 months). On the other hand, it is a little early to disclose this in the interview, things can happen with pregnancies in the first 2-3 months. Plus, if I am upfront about it, surely it will drastically cut my chances of getting the job.

Add to the mixture that I am not entitled to unemployment payments (was working as a contractor for that company) and that I really need an income and cannot go without a job, and I have a real dilemma in my hands.

Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer.

– Maternal

Dear Maternal …

Here in the U.S. your legal obligations would be clear. You wouldn’t have any obligation to disclose your pregnancy and no prospective employer is allowed to ask.

You didn’t ask about your legal obligations, though. You asked about your ethical obligations.

Luckily enough, I’m not an ethicist, so I can ‘t provide definitive guidance. Neither, I suspect, could a professional ethicists, but that’s a different matter.

The sticking point, of course, is the notion of taking a job under false pretences. Do and you’ve done something bad. Disclose, on the other hand, and you don’t get the job, which you need, and going on welfare when a baby is coming isn’t a particularly ethical course of action, especially when you’re fully employable.

My take: I’m not sure there’s much of an ethical issue here to worry about. You aren’t interviewing under false pretenses. You plan to do a great job once hired, obey the rules, obey the law and so on. All you’re doing is remaining silent about a subject you have every right to remain silent about.

Your concern, I think, is less about ethics than it is about expectations – that by interviewing for a job and not mentioning your pregnancy, you’re creating an expectation that you’ll be on the job more or less without a break, with nothing on the horizon that might intervene.

The law sets the expectations, though, and the law is clear on all points. No employer should have any expectation that a job applicant would reveal a pregnancy, any more than one would reveal any other medical condition that might affect attendance, during the interviewing process. The subject is clearly and unambiguously out of bounds.

So set your mind at rest. When the time comes you and your employer can figure out how long you’ll be gone and how to handle your absence. Companies do this all the time, just as they figure it out for employees who need heart surgery and appendectomies.

– Bob