A girlfriend of mine has been looking for a job for about 9 months. She has been frustrated a lot, because she has a college degree and lots of work experience in her field. Recently, she became employed. She confessed to me that when she filled out the application, and was given a supplemental form that asked about her race - she lied. She now feels that may have been THE reason why she was hired. She now feels that because she previously marked herself as white/caucasian, that she wasn't hired. Now, she's claiming to be hispanic.
She's worried now that she could be fired for lying. Is she at risk to be fired? I know I've filled out similar forms, but never thought of lying. She's so freaked out, she keeps thinking of quitting before she's "found out".
I'm self-employed, so I don't know what would happen if her lie was discovered. Any thoughts?
2007-09-14 09:33:56 · 13 answers · asked by quietude61 3 in Business & Finance ➔ Careers & Employment ➔ Law & Legal
it would obviously be illegal to fire her for that. If they bring it up she should just say that she marked the wrong box. oops, sorry, owell right? Besides, there are alot of hispanics that look white. First they would have to prove that was lying and not just a lighter skined hispanic and secondly they would have to prove that she lied intentionally....not gonna happen, tell her to move on and don't give them a reason to fire her.
2007-09-14 09:40:15 · answer #1 · answered by taylor p 3 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Unless speaking spanish was a requirement for the job and she doesn't know the language, the answer is No. Her ethnicity is no reflection on her qualifications for the job. Companies have you fill out the supplemental form in order to prove to the government that they are an "equal opportunity employer" (I think companies get grants or tax write-offs for it.) Usually, it is illegal to hire based on race though many companies practice it and there is no way to prove it. They can fire you if you lie about your credentials such as education and previous jobs.
Personally, I don't believe they will find out about her little secret. Even in the off-chance that they will meet her parents & siblings, many people don't fit the stereotypical picture of a person of this race or that and also there are people out there who are, for example, hispanic by blood but who were adopted by families of a different ethicity. No one will ever question her on that because it simply is too personal and no one's business but hers and her family's.
2007-09-14 09:54:01 · answer #2 · answered by Amethyst92476 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if they really wanted to go back and look, they could find her guilty of lying on a application or something else. Unless she is in the government or some other political type of job she should just stay quite and let it ride. The odds she was hired because of the hispanic bit is very very unlikely.
2007-09-14 09:43:08 · answer #3 · answered by Ravin 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That probably wasn't why she was hired. Those supplemental forms are used to report to the federal/state government about job seekers. However, she did lie on her employment application which is grounds for termination. She could always lie again if she gets caught and say she checked the wrong box.
2007-09-14 09:40:03 · answer #4 · answered by Suzy 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No, she can't be fired, and I'll tell you why.
The government made some rapid changes to the race/ethnicity issue about 3 years ago in direct response to blacks falling to the #3 minority and hispanics rising to #2.
If someone that had skin as black as night, walked in and completed a job application and put down "CAUCASIAN", it is their legal right to do so.
The gov't for a a couple hundred years, had VERY strict controls, of what you could call yourself in regards to race, but no more.
For example, someone who had a white mother and a black father, the child would be reqiured for years to put down "black"...why? He's 50/50?
You can't go by skin color anymore, and that is why not a thing will happen to your friend.
However, with that in mind. If she tries to pull that trick to do something such as apply for benefits for a minority, she could wind up in jail.
2007-09-17 18:39:15 · answer #5 · answered by Expert8675309 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She absolutely could be terminated. Misrepresentation of any type on a job application is grounds for immediate dismissal and there would be no grounds for discrimination. How could there be discrimination when she lied about her race?
That being said, if she likes the job, tell her to just be quiet. I'm sure that somewhere, 17 generations back she had someone that had an illegitmate child that was probably born of Hispanic descent. :)
2007-09-14 09:47:04 · answer #6 · answered by Pete 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
According to law, these forms are not to be filed in the personnel file, they are kept separately as to not have any influence on anything else other than EEO reporting. I doubt it'll ever come up, and even if it did she's not obligated to discuss her ethnicity with anyone. Besides, she can just say she made a mistake or that she's got hispanic ancestry if she really wants to gloss it over. It's not worth quitting over. As long as she didn't lie about experience or criminal history, since that's can always come back to haunt you.
2007-09-14 09:55:00 · answer #7 · answered by Sandy Sandals 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No it would not be illegal to fire her for that. It is information that is used for affirmative action I think it is called in the US and for employment equity in Canada (where I am writing from.) It is used to report to the government on status of the workplace and is an offence for the company to report incorrectly. Regardless of whether they can prove it or not, if it comes out at some point that she wasn't truthful and they don't go to the extent of firing her, it could hurt her workplace relationships with her superiors as well as her chances for upward mobilty. If you are not going to be honest on your application you better be ready to have to lie for the rest of the time you are employed! Which in itself as you can tell from the fact she wants to quit before she gets "found out" is not a comfortable situation to be in!
2007-09-14 09:45:35 · answer #8 · answered by LAG 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try it, and see what happens. However, I HIGHLY doubt it's because of your race, as the parts of a job app that ask questions about race are separated from the rest of the app and are only tallied for statistical reasons that the government takes.
2016-05-19 21:22:00 · answer #9 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pffft.
She should forget it. The form was for statistical purposes, to show the percentage of whites / hispanics / blacks / asians / etc they hired.
The fact that she lied at all is an issue, though. Credibility is the only thing one can hold onto, and she surrendered hers.
2007-09-14 09:40:22 · answer #10 · answered by Stuart 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋