Top 8 Illegal or Inappropriate Interview Questions

Posted on 03. Jun, 2009 by ResumeBear in Featured Articles, Interview Tips

Numerous federal laws preclude discrimination based on “protected” characteristics. Your interview and overall evaluation should only focus on objective, job related factors in order to negate any possible claims of discriminatory bias.

1. Citizenship

You cannot ask them to specify their actual citizenship. You may ask if the applicant is a U.S. citizen, if they are not, you make inquire whether he or she has valid employment authorization. If they do not have valid employment documentation you may ask how he or she plans to obtain the necessary employment papers. You cannot ask them to specify their actual citizenship.

2. Political Beliefs, Race, Sex, Religion, National Origin, Non-job Related Disabilities

You are prohibited from consideration of these factors in making a hiring decision.

3. Age

You may not ask the person’s age or date of birth.

4. Arrests

You may not ask about arrest records but you can ask if the applicant has been convicted of a criminal offense.

5. Marital Status, Number of Children and Family Planning

You can not ask questions related to marital status, number of children they currently have or may plan on having in the future.

6. Professional License

You may ask about a professional license only if it’s possession is directly related to the job.

7. Health Status

Inquiries concerning presence or treatment of diseases should be avoided.

8. Friends or Relatives

Having friends or relatives already employed by the company should not in any way affect hiring decisions unless they have a written policy against spouses or relatives working together.

Employment Laws do vary somewhat from state to state. A good basic rule to follow is - If the answer to a question could be used to discriminate against you on grounds other than your ability to perform in the role, they cannot ask you the question.

Handling Illegal Questions

If your interviewer ask you an illegal or inappropriate question here are a few ways to handle these questions.

Ask how the question relates to the job
Answer the question
Answer around the question: Respond but don’t answer the illegal part
Refuse to answer
Point out it’s an illegal question

Before You File a Claim

Before you file a discrimination claim, you might want to consider that most discrimination is not deliberate. The interviewer may simply be ignorant of the law. Even though the interviewer may have asked you an illegal question it doesn’t necessarily mean that the intent was to discriminate against you.

Filing a Claim

If you believe you have been discriminated against by an employer, labor union or employment agency when applying for a job or while on the job because of your race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, or disability, or believe that you have been discriminated against because of opposing a prohibited practice or participating in an equal employment opportunity matter, you may file a charge of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

To file a charge, contact an attorney who handles labor issues locally or contact your local EEOC office:

http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/howtofil.html

Tags: EEOC, Interview Questions, Interview Tips

12 Responses to “Top 8 Illegal or Inappropriate Interview Questions”

Priyanka

29. Aug, 2009

Thanks for the Post

Check out this website for the Largest Collection of Technical Interview Questions and Answers

Technical Interview Questions and Answers

Thanks
Priyanka

Reply to this comment
Ask a Manager

20. Jul, 2009

Actually, most of these are NOT illegal to ask. They are, however, illegal to base a hiring decision on (and so therefore there’s no point in asking them).

Reply to this comment
Tammy Miller

11. Jun, 2009

That was a fantastic blog! I never knew that many of the topics/questions listed were illegal to ask. I have been asked some of the questions that were described as illegal. I thank you so much for putting this information out there! Bookmarked and shared. Again, THANKS!!!!!

Reply to this comment
John

10. Jun, 2009

Great article, and there really should be more of these to better inform the public.

Suggestion: what about an article on how to handle the more nefarious, yet legal questions interviewers use?

For example, how to handle an interviewer accusing you of ‘lying’ even when you recommend he calls your references. This technique is usually used to rattle the interviewee, but should be discussed further.

Also, an article exploring questions indirectly trying to get at the answers to the above questions could also prove to be useful.

Reply to this comment
Balamurali

09. Jun, 2009

I had no idea which questions were considered Illegal or Inappropriate Interview Questions. This will definitely help me in the future.success

Reply to this comment
Benji

08. Jun, 2009

The first few on this list are almost routine in all interviews. i doubt the interviewer even knows that these are illegal. I’m glad you pointed this out.
However during an interview, its often difficult to point out that the question is illegal - I may be worried that getting on the wrong side of the interviewer may reduce my chances of getting the job!

Reply to this comment
Bill

07. Jun, 2009

These may be illegal/inapropriate, but i know that i have been askes several of these questions when i have gone for interviews, and honestly i didn’t mind too much. If i had minded, what could i say? That i won’t answer? That is a sure way NOT to get a job…

Reply to this comment
Alan

06. Jun, 2009

Great post, I knew there where some questions companies were no allowed to ask, but I did no know there was so many of them. Ill have to keep my ears open next time I am sitting in an interview office and make sure they behave themselves.

Reply to this comment
BOB PARKER

05. Jun, 2009

I hate discrimination & very much liked this article. If anyone’s refused a job based on discrimination, then that one must surely file up a suit & fight for his/her rights. This won’t help just one person but many others too.

Two thumbs up to this great article.

Reply to this comment
Charlie

04. Jun, 2009

Hi there,
Thank you! I would now go on this blog every day!
Charlie

Reply to this comment
Top 8 Illegal or Inappropriate Interview Questions | Law Offices of Michael D. Harnois PLC

03. Jun, 2009

[...] Top 8 Illegal or Inappropriate Interview Questions | ResumeBear Blog. This entry was posted in Courts and Judges. Bookmark the permalink. Post a comment or leave a [...]

Reply to this comment
Nancy Struck

03. Jun, 2009

Is there anyone else out there experiencing subtle, exceptionally difficult to prove, age discrimination in the job search? It is going on (not in the form of questions, but at the resume screening level) and I’d like to heighten awareness on both sides of the table, hiring, and seeking. Additionally, a number of job applications ask for DOB up front , not during the interview process, to run a criminal background check. How can this be legal? I would welcome comments, insight. Thank you.

Reply to this comment