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A recruiter reached out to me today about a position with a law firm.

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Anonymous

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A recruiter reached out to me today about a position with a law firm. In reviewing the job description it says the potential candidate must live independently. Are they trying to determine family obligations? Also, regarding benefits the firm offers a monthly stipend to cover MDV insurance. Does this mean the employer will contribute toward premium to offset cost of the employee purchasing insurance?

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  1. Anonymous

    Medical, dental and vision insurance

  2. Anonymous

    That description sounds unethical. You can ask the recruiter but personally no one can dictate your living situation. Perhaps that was the firm’s way of saying we won’t hire anyone with a spouse, children or partner in the home. Sounds very fishy to me.

  3. Anonymous

    It's a way of not obligation a company. If you offer a stipend for insurance, the company has no obligation. The insurance is 100% the obligation of the individual whether the company honors its stipend payment is up to them. The assurance of living independently is another for of control. They want to be the top priority. Strange but true.

  4. Anonymous

    Ask the employer or the recruiter what both of those mean! Asking here doesn't make sense since we are going to similarly interpret things perhaps incorrectly. I assume you meant DMV insurance? What is MDV??? The recruiter should know and if they do not put it on them to ask the question and find out. If you can get them to put whatever the response is in writing in an email so that you have it truly confirmed.

  5. Jessica Ferland

    I interpreted MDV as Medical, Dental, Vision, but not 100% on that.

  6. Anonymous

    I assume you are the original OP so yes perhaps it is that but definitely ask to be sure. If the company wants you to pay for your own medical, dental, and vision coverage the cost of that should be factored into your thinking about whatever offer they give you should they decide to hire you. The value of benefits costs can be anywhere from 20-40% of your income. So think wisely about this. I am the OP above your comment.

  7. Anonymous

    Yes. You are correct

  8. Kimplanetstl

    A stipend means you buy your own insurance with the allowance they pay you and if it costs more, you're out the difference. Purchasing insurance on your own is next to impossible and super expensive. Take the stipend only if you can go on your spouse's or parents' insurance. Then it's essentially free money

  9. Anonymous

    Well, what is the position you are applying to? Living independently could be a bona fide occupational qualification.

  10. Anonymous

    It's a law firm, not the CIA. In what role would this be a "bona fide" qualification?

  11. Anonymous

    You should ask the recruiter to clarify both of these items.

  12. Anonymous

    Honestly, I would keep scrolling. Any company that cares more about my living situation (or lists it as part of the JD) than my qualifications has no interest in work/life balance. It sounds like they do not subscribe to a group insurance plan or policy and expect you to purchase it alone from an insurance carrier or the marketplace. They are likely to work you to death and micromanage everything, either that or throw a bunch of stuff at you and expect you to do what they want with it with no direction.

  13. Anonymous

    It's a very detailed job description. I read everything carefully and that sentence jumped out at me. I wondered if the client intended that for the recruiter only.

  14. GirlBossanova934974

    A law firm playing games with your living situation? I would pass on this outfit! It's NONE of their business and secondly, it appears like they want to get extra hours from you without them having to worry about a spouse or kids. I would bet that they want all sorts of work after 40 hours per week and don't want to pay for it.

  15. Anonymous

    It's no one's business what your living situation is. Sounds to me that they're sneaking around the illegal questions of age, marital status and children. Run away. They're going to underpay and overwork you.

  16. Anonymous

    What they asked was illegal. It's discrimination against family status

  17. Anonymous

    this all sounds perplexing and very off

  18. Anonymous

    Even though a recruiter called you, it almost sounds like the scheme for Pre-Paid legal. They want you to live alone so you can stay on the phone hounding your friends and family constantly. Sounds sketchy to me.

  19. Anonymous

    Sounds like a scam

  20. Anonymous

    Ewww. Very very creepy. Run!

  21. Devon Chambers

    Don’t touch this one.

  22. Anonymous

    Sounds as if they were inquiring about any disability status

  23. Anonymous

    The phrase “live independently” is sometimes used to refer to working without supervision.

  24. Anonymous

    that would be "work independently", the way it was phrased is a bad sign.

  25. Anonymous

    Have you worked with Lawyers? They don't write in English lol

  26. Anonymous

    What? I've never heard of that. Well they should've used another word to describe work. I did my research before meeting with the recruiter. Another thing I noticed is the Recruiter works for the company in which the law firm is a client. However, I couldn't find the Recruiter or his name anywhere on the website. I see everyone else that works for the company but not this HR person. So when I did the interview I did ask questions. Unfortunately l, it was not a fit for me because I'm looking for jobs between a certain range. Honestly, I'm glad it didn't work out. Too many red flags for me.

  27. Farah Bajwa

    When in doubt, I ask. If you feel you have nothing to lose, gauge their response.

  28. MidwestMaven456

    Ask when someone calls to schedule an interview. "Just to make sure, what do YOU mean when you say "live independently"? Because that could mean anything from no students living home with parents to no pets or no one else's schedule to tend to (children, adult parent etc)

    Also, the only thing I see about MDV insurance is private medical insurance i.e. personal/private care medical insurance. I would check on that because it might be a list of offices you can use but nothing else. Yet another question for the scheduler.

  29. Katherine Lundgren

    Worked at a law firm, unless you are a lawyer wouldn’t recommend

  30. Michele Evans

    I would think this means, depending on the location, that they will not provide relocation or accommodations.

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