Ethics question

[Asguard]

And then you sue for unfair dismissal

 

[domesticated om]

Wow - I'd hate to own a company and be in this position.
The whole reason I would hire someone is to perform a duty. Assuming they aren't going to be there to perform the duty, then why hire them? If I have a product with a scheduled release date in n-amount of time, and the hire the new person....... then find out a month later they aren't going to be working to help my company meet the deadline, I would be up shit creek.

 

[Crunchy Cat]

As you know, I am 2 months pregnant.
I went on a job interview today and I did pretty well and I think they're probably going to hire me.
I know that the law here doesn't demand that I disclose to them that I am pregnant, and that it also forbids them to discriminate me for that.
My husband says I should absolutely not tell them at least until they hire me, as that will put a big negative weight on their decision.

Your husband is correct.

However, I just can't get myself to think that it is honest to keep this piece of information from them.

Then you don't have a good grasp of what honesty is and isn't. Honesty is telling the truth. Honesty is not disclosing every piece of information about yourself. When you interviewed for this specific job, did you tell them all about your first job when you were a teenager? Probably not. The reason is because the interviewer has a very specific business need and your teenage job doesn't meet that need. It would actually go a long way to ruin your chances of getting a job. Saying "Hey, I am pregnant" is no different because it doesn't do anything to meet your interviewer's business needs. If you say you are pregnant and you are certain you didn't get hired because of it (discrimination), good luck with winning in court. Your interviewer will state "I was asking about this person's job qualifications and she said she was pregnant. I can't afford to hire someone who is so stupid that they don't realize that being pregnant is not a skill that fills my business need". The end result? They win, you lose, and now you have a reputation amongst the HR community (yes Human Resources personnel have a community that span many different organizations across the U.S. and you will get a reputation).

- Obviously, I plan to work there for several years, so a few months off for maternity leave, with the added benefit of being able to work remotely should not be that big of an impact. Will they think like this, or will they think that they are better avoiding the situation altogether?

There is no telling how an individual will think; however, the average employer will avoid the situation altogether.

- You'd never ask a man to disclose that their wife is pregnant, even though men also get a maternity leave and all the stress that comes with having a newborn baby. Is it fair to women that they should be open about it?

There is no such thing as objective "fair" and the question is therefore kind of silly.

- A person with a cancer or a serious disease would not be obliged to disclose their medical situation to the employers. Should pregnant women be different?

Nope.

- I can't tell them that I didn't know I was pregnant because I've already gotten blood tests and an ultrassound and it will show on my record. This is a position with health insurance and it will come up when they enroll me.

You tell them the truth if they ask. You don't tell them anything if they don't.

- Isn't it just a bad way to start a relationship with a new employer to hide this type of thing from them. I dread the situation in which my belly starts to show and my manager comes to me and asks "Why didn't you tell us?"

The answer to your employer's question would be "Tell you what exactly? That I am female, have reproductive organs, and am sexually active? Do you feel that would have been something we should have discussed?". An answer of anything but "No" in that scenario would lead to an HR nightmare for your boss and company. The questioning would end there unless your boss was beyond stupid... in which case you follow through with a multi-million dollar lawsuit and retire.

- Some comments I read online say that the best time to disclose would be when negotiating salary and terms of contract, as they have already made the decision to hire you. However, as no contract has been drawn, it could fall apart right there. What do you think?

I think the online comments you read are niave.

BTW, all you religious debaters who ever told me that atheists have no motivation to be moral, TAKE THAT.

What you should tell the religious is that the peope who would discriminate against your being pregnant are statistically very likely to be theists.