Chevron withdraws abortion and STD questions from Australian job forms
17 October 2013
Oil and gas multinational Chevron has withdrawn a recruitment questionnaire it used in Australia which included questions on the applicant’s history of abortions, stillbirths and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Thu, 17 Oct 2013
Oil and gas multinational Chevron has withdrawn a recruitment questionnaire it used in Australia which included questions on the applicant’s history of abortions, stillbirths and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Australian media reports that Chevron has issued a statement to employees saying that many questions on a widely criticised form are “not relevant” and would be amended.
Other questions enquired about whether the applicant had experienced a “black or tarry stool” or a “hernia of any type”, while the section “reproductive outcomes” asked whether the applicant’s partner had “had a procedure for, or resulting in, sterlization”.
“Our forms will be amended to ask only medical information relevant to the position. It is in our best interest to ensure our people are safe and fit for duty,” an email statement to staff says.
But the questions were not, apparently, unlawful. After the forms came to light last week and were widely reproduced across the Australian media, one lawyer told the news site Business Day that there is “no inherent unlawfulness about asking questions”, with another saying the problem arises “when the employer does something disadvantageous to the candidate as a result of their answer to the question”.
One employee, who had told the media that filling in the form as a jobseeker was a “traumatic” experience, applauded her now-employer.
Under the assumed name of Rae, she tells the Sydney Morning Herald: “I'm still confused as to how this form came to be approved for use in the first place, but I'm glad that they have listened to feedback and responded.
"Well done to Chevron for being big enough to admit a mistake and rectifying it. I'm grateful also to the other brave people who came forward to share their stories in the Chevron recruitment process.”
Oil and gas multinational Chevron has withdrawn a recruitment questionnaire it used in Australia which included questions on the applicant’s history of abortions, stillbirths and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Australian media reports that Chevron has issued a statement to employees saying that many questions on a widely criticised form are “not relevant” and would be amended.
Other questions enquired about whether the applicant had experienced a “black or tarry stool” or a “hernia of any type”, while the section “reproductive outcomes” asked whether the applicant’s partner had “had a procedure for, or resulting in, sterlization”.
“Our forms will be amended to ask only medical information relevant to the position. It is in our best interest to ensure our people are safe and fit for duty,” an email statement to staff says.
But the questions were not, apparently, unlawful. After the forms came to light last week and were widely reproduced across the Australian media, one lawyer told the news site Business Day that there is “no inherent unlawfulness about asking questions”, with another saying the problem arises “when the employer does something disadvantageous to the candidate as a result of their answer to the question”.
One employee, who had told the media that filling in the form as a jobseeker was a “traumatic” experience, applauded her now-employer.
Under the assumed name of Rae, she tells the Sydney Morning Herald: “I'm still confused as to how this form came to be approved for use in the first place, but I'm glad that they have listened to feedback and responded.
"Well done to Chevron for being big enough to admit a mistake and rectifying it. I'm grateful also to the other brave people who came forward to share their stories in the Chevron recruitment process.”
