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Company asking ridiculous and personal questions

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Ross1689

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? maryland

I have been working in a Rite Aid warehouse for about a year and a half, employed by the temp agency Staffmark. Rite Aid decided to hire me, but as with all other new hires, only under the condition that I take their company "quickscreen" survey. Both Rite Aid and Staffmark have admitted to me that the only way to pass the survey is to lie, and that it is okay because everybody does it. As a Christian I have a big problem with this, as lying for financial gain is condemned repeatedly in the Bible. I failed the survey because I was honest, and they won't hire me until I am willing to lie (they admit this openly).

It is a multiple choice/yes or no collection of about 30 questions. Some of them include:

1. Have you ever had negative thoughts about your coworkers?
2. Have you ever considered doing anything illegal?
3. Have you ever had a relationship with a coworker?
and many other ridiculous things like this. many of the questions are personal, offensive,
and have NOTHING to do with the actual employment.

My coworkers call me a mother effer nearly every day, so yes, I have negative thoughts about them.
I used to be an addict, so yes, I've done illegal things.
Yes, I once had a relationship with a coworker, about 10 years ago.

They will not hire me unless I answer "no" to these questions.
This is completely unrealistic, and I'm curious if it is even legal.

I am still with the temp agency, but I can't get hired by Rite Aid
until I play ball. Am I stuck? Do I have no say in the matter?
I do not see how this is ethical.

I would appreciate any advice I may be able to receive. I am having
difficulty making ends meet with my temp agency paychecks, and I've
been giving an ultimatum which conflicts with my religious beliefs. Seems
like a very dirty business to me.

Thanks,
Ross
 


The Occultist

Senior Member
I don't know your specific state's laws as far as what does and does not go as far as prohibiting employment, but if we go only according to federal law (which is the minimum across all states, though your state MIGHT have even better standards), nothing you have displayed here is illegal as far as their decision to not hire you. The basic protected classes are things like age, ethnicity, religion, etc. The grounds you are trying to raise a fuss over, while I agree are not fair, are also not illegal. Shoot, they can likely legally decide to not hire you just because they don't like the noise you make when you sneeze.

Let me ask you this: even if there were some magical law that allowed you to sue them to the point that they were forced to hire you, would you really wanna work for a company that is apparently willing to force you to compromise your own integrity like that? Best advice (legal or otherwise): seek employment elsewhere.

More advice that is not necessarily legal advice: when being interviewed by potential employers in the future, do make sure to keep this entire story to yourself. There is almost no way you can present this to the person interviewing you that won't make it sound like, "I will cause problems if I don't agree with what you're doing." That will surely land you in the reject pile. It's grand to have standards; it's grander to find steady employment.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
I'm curious if it is even legal.

Then be curious no more. It is legal.
 

single317dad

Senior Member
4Q's and personality assessments are a really stupid tool for HR departments to implement, but they're not illegal.

OT: Many years ago, I took one of these tests during an interview for Best Buy. The interviewer told me later they "would be unable to hire me due to those results". About 7 years ago, I took the online test associated with the McDonald's application just for fun. I failed that one also. I wasn't particularly upset about either instance.
 
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cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Speaking as an HR person, I absolutely agree. They are stupid and meaningless and are not at all a good predictor of who will and will not fit in a position/company culture. But they are legal.
 

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