shold i be concerned or am i overreacting

[guest]

when i had an interview with my investigator she asked me questions not relating to the background packet. She asked me if i ever had emotional problems. I told her yes, and i explained to her that i was evaluated by school staff  and they determined i was having emotional problems because of my poor attendance at school, and put me into resource room for extra help. my investigator told me that the answer was no.  clearly resource room is considered a form of therapy  to help me in school. Im afraid that this can hurt me in another lawenforcement bi because they all compare notes, and she kept the answer to the question as no. i plan on telling lawenforcement agencies from the beginning on the situation on that bi. Can this hurt me alot simply because my investigator did not put yes to the question.

[s-X-e]

Was this question asked before or after you were given a conditional offer of employment? The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits asking questions of this nature prior to being given a conditional offer of employment. Even after an offer has been given, the information may only be used to determine if a problem currently exists and if it would negatively impact how you would perform your job.

Whether or not police departments abide by this law is anyone's guess. I would guess some do and some don't. I know several departments in my area don't even tell you why you were disqualified, just that you are "no longer competitive."

[guest]

that was before during a bi, i was 15 when theschool situation happened im currently 23

[s-X-e]

that was before during a bi, i was 15 when theschool situation happened im currently 23

In any event, they are not supposed to make inquiries of that nature until you are given a conditional offer of employment. These offers are usually in writing and state that you are expected to be hired providing you pass a medical, psychological, or even your polygraph and background investigation. Normally, the background and polygraph are done before the offer is given, however, if they give you an offer before your poly or background then any disability-related questions they ask you may only be used to determine whether you are currently medically fit to perform the necessary job functions that your job entails.

13. Q: Can police departments still use polygraph tests at the application stage or do we have to wait until a conditional job offer has been made?



A: You can conduct polygraph exams before a conditional job offer is made. However, employers must exercise care not to ask any prohibited disability-related inquiries in administering the pre-offer polygraph exam.



14. Q: May a police department wait to conduct a background check on applicants until after the information from the medical exam has been reviewed -- which is after a conditional offer of employment has been made?



A: Yes, in certain circumstances. In general, a job offer is not viewed as "bona fide" under the ADA, unless an employer has evaluated all relevant non-medical information which, from a practical and legal perspective, could reasonably have been analyzed prior to extending the offer. However, a law enforcement employer may be able to demonstrate that a proper background check for law enforcement personnel could not, from a practical perspective, be performed pre-offer because of the need to consult medical records and personnel as part of the security clearance process. Where the police department uses the information from the medical exam during the background check, doing the background check at the post-offer stage saves the police department the cost of doing a second background check.



Federal investigators will carefully scrutinize situations in which a police department withdraws an offer after a post-offer background examination to determine whether the withdrawal was based on non-medical information in the background check or on information obtained through post-offer medical examinations and disability-related inquiries. If it is determined that the offer was withdrawn because of the applicant's disability, then the police department must demonstrate that the reasons for the withdrawal are job-related and consistent with business necessity.

I don't think you have anything to worry about since they probably won't even ask you this type of question. If they do, you might want to say, "the last department I applied with did not consider this an emotional problem, but when I was in high school...." and then explain what happened to you.

[guest]

would it be best for me to tell an investigator that situation that happened with that agency right from the statrt of a bi interview so that way i dont encounter any problems

[s-X-e]

would it be best for me to tell an investigator that situation that happened with that agency right from the statrt of a bi interview so that way i dont encounter any problems

I wouldn't bring it up unless/until they ask you that question.