Nurse Says Interviewer Asked If She’d Have More Kids—LinkedIn Is Fuming in Viral Post

"The questions were not relevant to my ability to fulfill the role," Turlington noted.

Jonnie Turlington, MSN, RN, a nurse based in Fort Worth, Texas, shared an uncomfortable experience she had while interviewing for a job. While job hunting—something many of us are familiar with right now—Turlington applied for a position through an online job board and was selected to complete an introductory Q&A through SparkHire. 

From there, she says was selected to proceed with a virtual interview. Before the interview, she was also instructed to watch six videos and “study” an attached document. Once she made it into the interview, however, things took an unexpected turn when she says she was asked two inappropriate questions about her future plans to have children and further her career that she said made her very "uncomfortable."

Turlington wrote about her experience in a now-viral LinkedIn post, and she shared some additional details with Nurse.org about what she encountered. 

"Not Relevant" Questions

In her LinkedIn post, which Turlington wrote in early August 2025, she described how, while completing a virtual interview for a clinical operations manager/ facility administrator role, she was shocked by two "unsettling" questions she was asked.

• When discussing the radiation exposure in the procedural area, Turlington says the HR personnel—who happened to be male— asked if she had plans to continue to grow her family and planned on having more children. 
• She was also asked whether or not she planned on furthering her education by going to CRNA or NP school.

Unlike the pre-screening questions, Turlington tells Nurse.org that these two questions were asked directly by the HR associate during a live virtual interview, rather than being part of a written or automated process.

Turlington reports being very "caught off-guard" by the questions, but says she "remained professional" and answered as best she could with a smile.

"I explained that I was not planning on having more children at this time and that I already hold a master’s degree, so I am not currently pursuing further education," she says, adding that the question about her education plans "clearly felt like a test of loyalty."

Still, Turlington was taken aback by the questions because she says they had nothing to do with her job. "Both questions made me uncomfortable, as they were not relevant to my ability to fulfill the role," she points out.

Illegal Interview Questions Explained

Turlington points out that not only were the questions irrelevant to her ability to do the job, but employers asking questions about a prospective employee's reproductive plans is illegal. 

Under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), employers are not allowed to discriminate against someone for the possibility that they could become pregnant. That includes not hiring someone based on the fact that they could become pregnant. The law only applies to employers who have at least 15 employees, according to the PDA. 

The PDA reads:

Photo: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Turlington was concerned enough following the interview to do some additional research into the company. She found that some of the company's job postings included statements about radiation exposure risks, which, "on the surface, were presented as protective disclaimers."

However, Turlington claims that the statements were not aimed at protecting pregnant people, but as a way to skirt around the law and exclude people of reproductive abilities from even applying for the job. 

"The way they were framed seemed less like genuine concern and more like a veiled justification for discouraging or excluding pregnant women (or women of childbearing age) from applying," she says. "It gave the impression that the company was masking discriminatory practices under the guise of employee safety."

According to Turlington, the job posting specifically states that some of the positions are “not appropriate for women who are pregnant or are planning to get pregnant," a statement she notes is illegal. In her LinkedIn post, she also pointed out that radiation safety for all employees is an employer's responsibility, not a reason to "probe" employees about their reproductive plans.

"They violated and continue to violate the law this way, and by asking these discriminatory questions," Turlington states.

Sharing Her Experience

As a result of the discriminatory practices she says she encountered in this job application process, Turlington took to LinkedIn to share her experience and warn future nurses about their rights as women. 

Her post has amassed over 200,000 views, 117 comments, and 13 reposts, as many nurses chimed in with their own experiences. Some offered advice for skirting illegal questions (talking about your dogs was a common suggestion), while others noted that age-related questions are another oft-encountered form of discrimination.

A few hours after her interview, with time to process what had happened, Turlington sent an email formally withdrawing her candidacy for the role. In her email, she expressed her concerns about the questions she was asked and noted that she shared feedback out of "hope" the team would reflect on how such questions could "unintentionally violate employment law."

Turlington reports that a company representative responded the next day with a formal message acknowledging her withdrawal and stating that “they” would review her feedback internally. However, she says that the company "did not issue an apology or directly address the inappropriate nature of the questions," and she did not hear anything from the VP of Operations. Turlington mentioned the job posting is still online, but the compensation has been decreased. 

Moving On

While she has clearly chosen to speak out publicly about her experience with the company, Turlington has not chosen to pursue formal reporting through the EEOC.

Instead, she has chosen to move past her potential role with the company and is pursuing a new role as a School Nurse with Dallas ISD. "I am excited to begin this new chapter in my career," she gushes. 

Turington does hope that in speaking out, important discussions and awareness can be raised for her nursing peers. 

"I believe it is important to call attention to inappropriate interview practices, not only for my own experience but also to protect other candidates who may encounter similar situations," she says.