12#4

And so I posted in a thread about mentioning this hodge as a reference for jobs, this is what i asked.

I'm currently working on the application to do MA and I also wonder if mentioning this Hodge episode would benefit me or not. But like what most of you guys suggest, the academia aspect would be more of a plus point, i guess i'll mention it.

Job wise, wouldn't the employer ask why didn't i work in between the treatment period, till then i would have to come clean about the treatment?

Jen replied me:

I am a lawyer, but I do not practice employment law and am not licensed in your jurisdiction anyway, so this is not intended and should not be taken as legal advice. 

My understanding of the law in the USA: A prospective employer cannot ask you about your health history. However, I think it is a perfectly legitimate question to ask as to why you were not employed during a certain period of time. After all, the employer has no clue WHAT you were doing so they aren't directly asking an illegal question. That is EXACTLY the problem I had. It is NOT usual for a person to graduate from law school, work for a short period, and then have a large employment gap. Even if they don't ask you about it, they're probably going to be wondering about it when they look at your resume. 

I don't really know what we should do in that situation. Part of me says we should say nothing because you have no clue how someone is going to react. Part of me says if you don't say anything, the employer may make an adverse inference about you anyway. If you outright lie (I was backpacking in Europe) if the question comes up, that could be grounds for future termination.

It's a really tough situation that is pretty unique to us in the 20-30 year age range. Older folks with longer work histories have a lot more job security than we do, plus they have much more work experience that they can draw attention to. I'd been with my employer for only about 6 months when I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's and had almost no work experience. It made it really tough when I tried to re-enter the job market.

Makes me wonder, how should i handle this in the future.