Are Pre-Employment Medical Examinations Trampling the Rights of Job Seekers?

Employment legislation generally prohibits discrimination against employees (potential and current) on the basis of gender, sex, creed etc. Various UN and ILO conventions maintain that pre-employment medical examinations can only be justified in the context of strict job related demands and for the management of health and safety at work. 

In the case of HIV AIDS and genetic testing which come with many social, ethical and legal concerns, employment legislation is even stricter and often times proscribed. In all cases adherence to the principles of relevance, proportionality, necessity and human rights principles such as privacy, physical integrity and non-discrimination are mandatory.  In any case, HIV AIDS testing must always be done if at all with the prior informed consent of the person taking the test. For instance the UNAIDS/WHO Policy on HIV Testing (June 2004) insists on the 3Cs: informed consent, confidentiality, accompanied counselling.  The Ghana National Work Place HIV/AIDS Policy document (December 2004) requires that standard pre-employment medical forms do not request HIV status.

However with high unemployment rates and the particular vulnerabilities in the informal economy can job seekers insist on their legitimate right to non-disclosure?

Here’s what happened in the case of a domestic worker in Ghana early this year.

The agency with which the applicant was registered found a prospective employer and the applicant was called in for an interview. She was a woman in her mid forties with admirable experience, education and personal presentation. The interview went well but she was required to undergo a pre-employment medical examination to determine if she was fit for the job. She received no details of the medical screening she was to be subjected to but the agency and prospective employer arranged a series of tests at a health facility.

The applicant presented herself at the health facility where sample blood and urine were taken, questions asked and medical instruments applied in various procedures on her. After waiting sometime the applicant was ushered into a consulting room where she was informed by a doctor that she is a healthy woman by all indications except that she tested positive for HIV AIDS.