Most of our clients are aware that in the hiring process it is illegal to discriminate against a candidate based on nationality, religion, age, marital or family status, gender, health and physical ability, military status and, in some locations, sexual identity and criminal background. What they don\u2019t realize is that many seemingly-benign questions can lead a candidate (or court of law) to conclude that you are intentionally or unintentionally doing just that \u2013 discriminating against a protected class.<\/p>\n
So, if your questions or screening methods could be viewed as having an adverse impact on a protected class, you should avoid asking them. Here below is a fairly comprehensive list of questions and types of questions you should NOT ask. You might want to print this out and review it just before you conduct your next interview:
\nHow old are you or how much longer do you plan to work before you retire?
\nWhat is the date of your high school graduation?
\nWhen or where were you, your parents, your spouse born?
\nWhat is your original or maiden name?
\nHow long have you lived at your current address?
\nQuestions about lineage, ancestry or national origin.
\nWhat is your religion or religious practices?
\nQuestions about race, complexion of skin or attitude about working with co-workers of different race.
\nCitizenship (although you may ask if he or she has the legal right to work in the United States).
\nQuestions about physical characteristics (i.e., weight, height, color of hair, etc.).
\nWhat is your marital status?
\nDo you have or intend to have children?
\nWhat\u2019s your gender or sexual identity?
\nHow do you feel about managing a man\/woman?
\nAny medical information (general health, disabilities, past use of sick leave, use of workers\u2019 compensation benefits).
\nDo you smoke, drink, take drugs?
\nDates of military service, type of discharge, or if receiving veteran disability pension.
\nListing of clubs, societies or lodges where applicants have membership.
\nDo you belong to a labor union?
\nDo you own a car\/home?
\nIn addition, do not require unnecessary documentation, such as a birth certificate, naturalization or baptismal records or require a photograph during the interview process. All legal documentation should be obtained and processed after the employee has been offered the position.<\/p>\n
Finally, some of these questions may be surprising, such as the one referring to car ownership. Remember, owning a car or a home is usually not relevant to employment \u2013 what\u2019s relevant is access to a vehicle or other reliable form of transportation. <\/p>\n
Do you have a favorite question and wonder whether it\u2019s legal to ask? Shoot us an e-mail or don\u2019t hesitate to call us. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Most of our clients are aware that in the hiring process it is illegal to discriminate against a candidate based on nationality, religion, age, marital or family status, gender, health and physical ability, military status and, in some locations, sexual identity and criminal background. What they don\u2019t realize is that many seemingly-benign questions can lead […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n