You have been asked to help interview candidates for an admi

You have been asked to help interview candidates for an administrative professional opening at your company. After the team has reviewed all the resumes and completed the interviews, they begin to discuss the candidates. One team member says that she doesn’t like one of the candidates because he has Tourette syndrome. During the interview, the team learned that the candidate was subject to the following symptoms: involuntary blinking, shrugging, head herks, grimaces, throat clearing, sniffing, tongue clicking, yelping, and other noises. The team member is concerned the candidate won’t represent the company well when he greets clients.

Would choosing not to hire the candidate on this basis be unethical? Would your decision be any different if the position did not include much client interaction?

Solution

Yes, choosing not to hire the candidate is unethical. As, he has been interviewed for the administrative role, if he is filled with talent and can outperform, his illness should not be a concern. The role is for an adminitrative role which may require client interactions, but this isn\'t the sales post where the person has to pitch. It is more of a knowledge based post which would require good intellectual and if the person has it, his illness should not be a concern.

Yes, the members decision could have been different if it was a technical or backend role as that would not require client interaction and thus the intellegence would matter more over some physical illness.