We’ve all been in this situation. You’re interviewing someone and you’d like to ask them a personal, harmless question to establish a connection. Easy enough, right?
Think again. Over the years, it’s become clearer that there are “no ask” zones when it comes to interviewing questions. Ask, and you may find yourself in the courtroom.
Illegal interview questions are those that single you out based on your age, race, gender, disability, religion, marital status, or a variety of other reasons that are contrary to equal employment opportunity and anti-discrimination laws.
For example, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), it’s not against the law for an interviewer to ask your age or birth date. But it is against the law for an interviewer to deny you employment because you are age 40 or older, if all the other terms of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 also apply.
Simply put, Federal and state laws prohibit prospective employers from asking certain questions that are not related to the job they are hiring for. Questions should be job-related and not used to find out personal information.
What am I allowed to ask?
We’ve included some specific questions and guidelines for your use when conducting interviews. As a general rule of thumb, all of your questions should be directly related to the job in question and the job duties the applicant would be required to perform if hired. Of course, you need to steer clear of asking applicants about their age, race, color, sex, disability, religion, national origin, pregnancy, and other protected classifications.
While it would be impossible to create an exhaustive list of “no-no” questions, the following should give you an idea of what to avoid. As a guideline, don’t ask:
- What is your age? What is your date of birth? When did you graduate from high school? (But you can ask applicants whether they’re at least a certain age, if they’re minors, to verify eligibility to work.)
- What is your race, color, religion, or national origin? Were you born in the U.S.? Is English your primary language? Are you a U.S. citizen? (Instead ask whether applicants are eligible to work in the United States.)
- Do you have any disabilities of any kind? (Instead ask if applicants can perform the job functions at issue.)
- Are you married, single, or divorced?
- How many children do you have? Who’s going to care for them while you’re at work?
- Are you pregnant? How long do you plan to take off with the baby?
- When do you plan to start a family?
- Do you have your own car? (Don’t ask unless it’s job related — instead ask if the person has reliable transportation to get to work.)
- Do you have an arrest record? (But, in some states, you may ask about criminal convictions.)
- What is your credit history or credit score?
Have additional questions? Visit the EEOC’s Web site at www.eeoc.gov.
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