Hiring with questionable history

[FormerEMSLT297]

Dear Docharris,, I worked for NYC*EMS long before there were psychological exams,,,,, and to be blunt and open, they hired a lot of mentally screwed up employees. I had several instances where I had empolyees return to the station, and I simply asked them "Why are you out of service, or what are you doing at the station, ?" and they WIGGED out...

One employee started throwing chairs, another ran thru the station screaming "I cant take these people anymore, they are all f%$^&KED Up, etc. ... slamming doors and what not....

Now that I have moved on, and went to a job that REQUIRED A pre-employment psychological exam, I can say without hesitation ,,, PSYCH EXAMS are needed.......

Now I do not know whether someone who has attempted suicide 2 times would be barred from employment, but in my mind, It should raise some red flags about the individuals state of mind......

Now that FDNY-EMS does psych evals, I say ,, let the person apply and see if they pass... MY OPINION was , I would have some concerns either working with or supervising that person.....

That is all CONCERNS,,,,,,,,, .....

[WolfmanHarris]

I think you might have missed the main thrust of my argument, which was that any determination must be by a mental health professional. I have no issue with psych evaluations, my issue was with management staff with no professional education in psychology (or worse, just enough to be problematic) being the person determining whether someone's mental health history made them suitable for employment or not. As long any evaluation is being done by a professional.

[cynical_as_hell]

If the attempts were recent, then I would have some serious concern over hiring such a person. But at the same time, I'd want to know what was the event or circumstance for this person to be pushed to that point. I believe that at some point in everyone's life they feel overwhelmed and have thoughts of suicide, I think that's a normal part society....but it all goes back to what's going on with that person at that time and how likely are they to follow through with their thoughts?? I think that you would have a hard time not hiring for this reason without a discrimination lawsuit on your hands, unless you have it in your policy that all potential employees go through a psych eval. If you do have that in your policy, then it comes down to if this particular person passed or not. If they don't pass, then you have no worries, but if they do pass, then maybe this is just a thing of the past...sorry if im not much help..

[HERBIE1]

I would take this on a case by case basis. First, as an employer, would this person disclose this information on their application or in an interview? If not, how would the HR person find out about it? Is this person's history common knowledge, or is it known because of a friendship or 3rd person? I would also be concerned about HIPAA issues as well. If I were made aware of the issue and I was doing the hiring, I would ask the person point blank, explain any concerns you have, and see how they respond. How long ago were these incidents? How do they feel? Are they still in counseling? Was there a single incident that precipitated the suicide attempt or is this an ongoing issue? the Personally, I don't think something like this should automatically disqualify the person from employment.

As for the title on the thread- "questionable history", here's a quick story. Years ago, I was the operations manager for a fairly large private ambulance company and was responsible for hiring. I had an application from a guy who seemed like a pretty good candidate- fresh out of school, a bit older- (30ish), but literate and articulate on his application. The guy followed up his submission with a call, asked if he could get an interview and I agreed. During his interview, he was very impressive and told me that he had served a prison sentence for robbery, that he was a stupid kid who hung out with the wrong crowd and is ashamed and sorry for what he did. He said he was having a tough time getting a job because of his history. He seemed very eager, polite, genuine, and I appreciated the fact that he was honest with me. I was honest with him about my concerns, especially because of the nature of what we do and he said he understood. I spoke with the company owners about him, they were very reluctant, but after some arm twisting they agreed to let me hire the guy. I promised to keep an eye on him- nobody else knew of his history, and would ask discreet questions of his coworkers about his work ethic and skill. Turns out he was one of the most responsible, hardworking employees I ever hired. I never heard a bad thing about him, and he was well liked by our accounts, patients and coworkers. He lived quite a distance from work, took public transportation to get there, but was never late. I could always count on him to pick up an extra shift too.

About once a month, he would thank me for giving him the chance nobody else would. When I left the company, I made it a point to tell him that anytime he needed a reference, he could call me and I would be happy to provide one for him. Later, I heard that he got married to a coworker, and that because he had finally established a work history he found a better job within the business with better pay and benefits, and was doing well.

Does every situation turn out well? Of course not, but sometimes you need to trust your instincts, ask some questions, and give someone a chance.