Quote:
Originally Posted by archipelago
Wow, I had no idea that anyone could legally ask a question like that. Medical issues are considered private and are protected. People are not supposed to be able to have any access to any medical files and shouldn't ask either. I'm surprised.
There are jobs, due to exposure to certain people, that do screen for things. While I understand the reasoning, I still feel this is invasive and potentially discriminatory, a violation of civil rights.
People get around this by having a psych eval or something like that to get a sense of fitness. They also do criminal background checks. But I've never heard of anyone asking about things like just diseases, mental illness, and substance abuse. I mean who hasn't had a disease?
I can't give advice, but I would answer no because I objected to the question in the first place from a principled stance. If something is discovered later, I would point out that I believed the question invaded my privacy and therefore was not a question I was willing to consider as valid.
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Thanks for taking the time to reply! Here is the online application for reference. The section in question is the last one (scroll all the way down).
APPLICATION FOR TEACHING INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME 2015
I am not from the US and this is a civil service job so basically it's the government asking (who of course also makes the rules). I would answer no too but it's highly unlikely that they will accept my explanation of privacy invasion.