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Job Interview

Discussion in 'General Support and Advice' started by mm11, Jun 17, 2013.

  1. mm11

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    I'm getting ready to interview for a new job, which I'm very excited for. Unfortunately I live in a state where it is legal to fire someone for being gay. Luckily, the workplace I'm at now is open and in its Title IX statement specifically states that they don't discriminate based on sexual orientation.

    I'm not sure about the attitudes of the company I'm interviewing with and if they have any sort of of written anti-discrimination statement. I don't necessarily want to just bring up in the interview, but I would also hate to make an uninformed decision and make some sort of life-altering mistake.

    What do you guys think?
     
  2. Tightrope

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    I've never understood how that works. There are states where marital status is not a protected category but federal laws seem to have some protections against broader types of discrimination, including sexual orientation. I hope someone chimes in.

    Different but similar topic - marital status:
    State Laws Against Marital Status Discrimination
    And the South as a whole is pretty bad at this.

    Do they have a website you can look at? If they have profiles of key people, does it talk about how many kids they have and what church they go to? Can you find out from someone who knows about the company, but just ask about how progressive they are in a roundabout way and let them do the talking? I just don't think it's something most people being interviewed ask, but they'll be looking for cues and, if the employer is of the uptight variety, they will too, if there are cues to even look for. At your age, I don't know how much of a life-altering mistake it would be since you don't need to provide details. Further along in a career, running into this type of friction past the interview stage and when things are up and running could be very stressful. It really cuts into productivity. And, if the employer sees it as a pissing contest, they will find that there is often a huge cost to them as well if the person had a key role and leaves in the middle of something major. It's loose-loose, but may employers don't see it this way.
     
  3. Chip

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    Sexual orientation is not a protected class on a federal level, and many states do not recognize it as a protected class either.

    It totally depends on the employer. Some, in some parts of NC are very progressive, while others are the polar opposite. I think the best choice is to do as much online digging and research as you can and see if you can find anything.

    I will say that, with the exception of organizations run by people who are truly bigoted (Hobby Lobby or Chick-fil-a, for example), most won't out-and-out fire someone who is lesbian, gay, or bisexual because of the fear of bad publicity and lawsuits, so you are probably OK even if you don't disclose it up front. But ultimately, it depends on your level of risk tolerance, your assessment of the company when you interview, and how much better the new job is than your current one.
     
  4. Tightrope

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    Question, which would also apply to the OP's situation: if a person is in a double negative (no federal and no state protection) and the environment is oppressive, is there another recourse such as harassment or another approach? I've not seen attorneys on the forum, but what could one do? I wonder what the chance of winning in such a jurisdiction would be. It's a huge issue, actually, and a huge detriment to the employee who is targeted.

    Might have meant to say lose-lose in my previous post, now that I reread it.
     
  5. TraceElement

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    If you are offered the job, ask to see the policy manual before accepting the job. This way you can check for it before giving your final answer.
     
  6. Chip

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    Likely not. In states where there are no protections for sexual orientation, the courts also tend not to be terribly liberal toward extending existing anti-harassment statutes toward sexual orientation *unless* you could prove a pervasive pattern of sexual harassment and a hostile work environment, which wouldn't be easy to do. And legal actions are extremely expensive.
     
  7. alwayshope11

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    Check the jobs anti-discrimination policy...it can usually be found on the job application or website
     
  8. mm11

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    Thanks guys, it's a smaller company, so hard to tell. Just wanted to get some opinions on it.
     
  9. Chrissouth53

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    In reality, chances are you will never find a small company's stance on homosexuality unless they are blatant about it. You can check their website (if they have one). Look to see if they do social work like sponsoring events and see what kind of events they sponsor.

    And even if you never find anything, chances are you won't know the biases of the person you will report to (unless they say "I hate fags" during the interview).

    So unless you want to rule out a lot of small businesses as potential employers you may just have to take your chances.

    Get in there and do a good job. Most employers don't care about your orientation if you do a good job for them.
     
  10. MerBear

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    i LIVE in north carolina....do they seriously do this?
    i mean, i wouldn't be surprised because this is a conservative state really
     
  11. Tightrope

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    I very much agree with this post. For a small company, you won't see their stance on sexuality, either on a website, in an interview, or even early on. It sort of unfolds. And you can work with different people and those in charge can shift, even in a larger place, so they can have an impact on the experience. I've run into this twice, and it was tough on my morale. It wasn't even about any behavior, as I tend to be reserved, but more about being neat, well dressed, well spoken, and single, which weren't the norm in these specific male-dominated environments.

    Also, not trying to be sexist or gender specific, but I think women have it easier than men in this regard, despite the fact that both might be contributing equally. In one of these places, I believe there were a few women who were lesbian or bi, and they were not hassled. But any sort of suspicion from the good ole boy management toward the guys met with the hammer coming down in one form or another. It was also interesting that one of the key figures who was outwardly homophobic promoted handsome guys who were either too young or too inexperienced for the position they were being handed, and it backfired on him.

    If you are lucky to get an employer who is basically indifferent, and it can easily happen in either New York or North Carolina, then that's a good thing.