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Chevron defends job application form asking about stillbirths as 'guided by industry standards'

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By Steven Raeburn, N/A

October 10, 2013 | 2 min read

Oil giant Chevron has defended a job recruitment form which asks how many "stillbirths" an applicant has had, stating that the form was “"guided by industry standards to ensure staff are safe and fit to work" and was lawful.

A section of the form

The application form included a seven page medical history report.

"It was a traumatic experience filling out that form and I'm not joking," the anonymised applicant told Fairfax Media.

"I can only imagine that if someone had a stillborn, if someone has a trigger, or was going through an experience like they were asking, these questions are entirely insensitive and offensive."

In a statement, Chevron said the medical documents were "guided by industry standards to ensure staff are safe and fit to work" and were lawful.

"Medical information, including an individual's medical history, is solely used by authorised medical professionals and any questions relating to reproductive history are explicitly voluntary and this is lawful,” it said.

"Candidates who meet the requirements of a position are not discriminated based on medical history."

The anonymised applicant said: "I think they could not have been more offensive if they tried."

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