Illegal job interview questions include questions that
seek to elicit answers that would reveal information
that no candidate is required to give to a prospective
employer. Specifically, these questions are questions
that ask for information about the candidate’s legally
protected categories of age, race, religious beliefs,
country of origin, marital status, physical
disabilities that do not impact job performance and
(in some states) sexual preference. The legal basis of
prohibiting these questions is that by U.S. law,
employers are forbidden from making hiring decisions
based on these factors. Consequently, there is no
legitimate reason for the employer to ask for
information regarding them.
As a practical matter, asking these illegal job
interview questions could potentially set the employer
up for a discrimination lawsuit or criminal charges.
For this to happen, it would have to be made evident
that the employer asked the questions, then made a
hiring decision against that candidate based on that
information. Whatever the outcome of that lawsuit, it
would undoubtedly cost the employer time, money and
energy that would better be spent performing the
business tasks. For the interviewer, it’s important to
avoid these topics as stringently as possible. For the
candidate, it’s a good idea to have a plan of action
ready if those illegal job interview questions are
ever asked.
Avoiding Illegal Job Interview Questions
Avoiding illegal job interview questions can be
tricky. Seemingly simple and innocent questions, such
as what kind of hobbies a candidate enjoys in his or
her spare time or when he or she graduated college
might be interpreted by a litigious candidate to be
attempts to determine marital status or age, for
example. As a result, the interviewer should stick to
questions about job performance, experience and topics
directly related to the execution of the job duties.
As a candidate, if you receive a question that you
feel is illegal, you have a decision to make. Do you
answer that question and continue the interview, or do
you refuse to answer it? Though you have the legal
right to refuse to answer that question, and to inform
the employer that he or she asked an illegal query,
that may or may not be the best decision. It will
instantly put a note of contention in the interview,
and will embarrass the interviewer, hardly a recipe
for job interview success.
For that reason, your reaction to the illegal job
interview questions should be determined by context.
If, for example, the interviewer made a simple,
innocent mistake you could either answer the question
or finesse your answer in a way to protect your rights
without taking a confrontational tone. Whatever your
decision, be sure to document the question and your
response immediately afterwards. If you feel that your
candidacy was unfairly and illegally impacted by that
illegal question, you might have a legal case against
that employer. If you get the job, on the other hand,
you will have an opportunity to explain to your former
interviewer, your new co-worker, about the question’s
doubtful legality and help him or her to avoid a
similar mistake.
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