I’m a man who lives In California and my boss asked me if I am expecting any babies. Like basically is my gf pregnant. Is that ok? I work for a big publicly traded firm.

Golda_485 · 2021-04-08T14:50:00+00:00

Technically they are allowed, but they tend not to because of risk of a discrimination lawsuit. The only reason they might ask that would be so that they can keep you as close to the family as possible and not move you away.

I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. Please take what I have just said with a grain of salt.

Regenclan · 2021-04-08T19:17:00+00:00

Why was he asking? In what context?

Wildhouse83 · 2021-04-08T20:39:04+00:00

Some companies may hire only married men. Because husbands are used to be submissive and exploited for only little reward, if at all.

imjusthereforresearc · 2021-04-08T15:08:11+00:00

Talk to a lawyer.

And if you are serious about making an issue out of this, stopped posting.

SC2sam · 2021-04-08T20:13:02+00:00

Honestly it sounds more like they wanted to give you some free baby stuff they no longer needed, instead of anything nefarious.

anon517 · 2021-04-09T03:59:17+00:00

I think it's a useful question to ask, to find out if they need to prepare for hiring extra staff to cover your position later when you take leave.

No company wants to get blindsided because it.

flowerpassion2112 · 2021-04-08T23:25:17+00:00

So - marriage and kids tend to increase men’s wages in professional jobs and decrease women’s wages. Basically for the cultural reason that a dad really really needs his job, but that a mom may quit.

So it’s a (totally unfair and maybe just maybe illegal) way of gauging your need for stable employment ... for better or worse.

2021-04-09T00:26:04+00:00

Personally I think it's okay if you think it's okay. What tone did he use when asking? Did you feel uncomfortable? If you did, then let him know you're not comfortable discussing private stuff like that and would like to keep private life private.

sluttyman69 · 2021-04-09T00:26:53+00:00

OK maybe I missed it have you been talking at work recently about getting married having a wife buying a house or thinking about possibly having kids - have you been commenting a lot on other peoples children? - do you talk about going to lots of children’s functions nieces nephews or other things something that would make somebody think that you are having one or would be looking to have one - was your boss asking in a nice tone, like he was just being friendly ? - wife says that if somebody in the office anybody in the office is having a kid everybody gets asked about it because the conversation is there - is somebody else in the group or at work who is pregnant - work fact of a job somebody who has children is more likely to show up to work a whole lot more down the road because they need a paycheck consistently - that and they need to get away from the wife and kids (said by my Wife) oh and yes I have 4 grown children -

harpua1972 · 2021-04-09T03:26:20+00:00

It's not legal if it is used as a qualifier for hiring you or not, regardless of the reason.

He is not trying to give you baby clothes.

99% dude was just trying to relate, small talk, make the interview a little less nuts and bolts. That being said, he was either inexperienced or uninformed, opening the firm up to potential liability by asking you a personal question about a person with a protected status (pregnancy) like that. Companies literally train their employees who perform interviews not to ask shit like that.

cld8 · 2021-04-09T03:44:48+00:00

There's no law against asking. If they discriminate against you in any way based on the answers, then it could be illegal. Because of that, many employers will avoid asking in order to avoid any issues. But just asking is not per se illegal.

Benedikto_ · 2021-04-09T06:54:29+00:00

If I were you, I would lie and say no. Bosses never have your best interest at heart

spletharg2 · 2021-04-09T07:27:06+00:00

My first response would be "why ae you asking?"

DougDante · 2021-04-08T22:24:03+00:00

They may be considering layoffs. He may want to exclude you if this is the case.

Title	I’m a man who lives In California and my boss asked me if I am expecting any babies. Like basically is my gf pregnant. Is that ok? I work for a big publicly traded firm.
Author	get2itnowbrowncow
Upvotes	60
Comments	28
Date	April 8, 2021 2:47 PM UTC (5 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/mmtes4/im_a_man_who_lives_in_california_and_my_boss/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/im-a-man-who-lives-in-california-and-my-boss-asked.831051 https://theredarchive.com/post/831051

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