A number of years ago, while I was still studying for my bachelor’s, I applied for a job administering summer programs for a nearby local government. I was asked to interview for a position teaching school age children chess during the summer. During the course of the interview, the issue of faith was brought up in a way, which to me, seemed rather benign. Though I am certain the reason why I was not extended an offer related more to my badmouthing Jane Austen in the interview (blurting out, “I find the prospect of reading Austen utterly abhorrent”) than my faith. Nevertheless, as I mention in a recent blog post, such questions—relating to one’s faith and not Jane Austen—are (in most contexts and situations) wildly improper. In addition to the “religion” question, Investopedia contributor Porcshe Moran, identifies a number of questions of which interviewees should be weary.
What are these sins of interviewing? Though the applicability of laws protecting job seekers and employees from potentially discriminatory lines of questioning can sometimes depend on a number of factors, it is ever-important to be on guard and aware. With that being said, Moran singles out eight questions your employer would be completely amiss, for legal (and, perhaps, moral) reasons, to ask you.
- How old are you? Though, as you might learn through HR-run sensitivity training, persons under the age of 40 can be asked about their age, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act explicitly prohibits employers from asking persons over the age of 40 for age information.
- Are you married? Moran asserts that questions related to marriage are improper because the answers to such questions could lead an employer to view you with enough prejudice to prevent them from extending a job offer. Moran explains, “Even a question as seemingly innocent as ‘Do you wish to be addressed as Mrs., Miss, or Ms.?’ Is not allowed.”
- Are you a U.S. citizen? You might find this question somewhat confounding insofar as citizenship or residence status appear as eligibility requirements in many qualifications sections. Citizenship information, says Moran, can only come up “after a job offer ha[s] been extended” when the potential employee must “complete the Employment Eligibility Verification (I-9) Form.” Before the job offer has been extended, and the completion of an I-9, “Citizenship and immigration status cannot be used against a potential employee…according to The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1968 (IRCA).”
- Do you have any disabilities? A violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, prospective employers cannot inquire about what disabilities an applicant may or may not have. In fact, under the Act, Moran clarifies, employers must “accommodate disabilities unless the employer can prove it would cause significant difficulty or expense to do so.”
- Do you take drugs, smoke or drink? The way in which Moran frames this question is a bit misleading. Moran admits that employers “are allowed to ask if you have ever been disciplined” for the use of substances; they can “also ask directly if you use illegal drugs.” An employer cannot, however, “inquire about your use of prescription medications.”
- What religion do you practice? As I realized, this question too, is one about which most employers cannot inquire. Even if a prospective employer couches his or her question in seemingly appropriate or benign terms, such information, Moran reports, should be highly guarded. “An interviewer might be curious for scheduling reasons such as holidays that an employee might need off, or if the candidate will be unavailable to work on weekends because of religious obligations.”
- What is your race? Race, like religion, as you might learn in an introductory business law course, is considered a protected class. Moran notes, as I have in the past, that one’s protection from racial discrimination in hiring “is granted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964” which also prohibits employers from discriminating based on color, sex, or national origin.
- Are you pregnant? Even if you are a pregnant woman interviewing, the issue of pregnancy, or even one’s family (e.g. one’s children, etc.), should not be broached. Prohibited by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, questions about pregnancy might cause “employer[s]…to have concerns about an employee taking time off work for pregnancy or not having child care arrangements during work hours.” Moran continues, “an employer cannot refuse to hire a pregnant woman because of her pregnancy.”
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