Illegal Interview Questions

By Alison Doyle

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

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.

In a nutshell, employers should not be asking about your race, gender, religion, marital status, age, disabilities, ethnic background, country of origin, sexual preferences or age.

Illegal Interview Questions

Employers should not ask about any of the following, because to not hire a candidate because of any one of them is discriminatory:

• Race
• Color
• Sex
• Religion
• National origin
• Birthplace
• Age
• Disability
• Marital/family status

Your Options

Answer the question.

Answer the "intent" of the question. For example, if you are asked whether you are a United States citizen (not legal to ask), reply that you are authorized to work in the U.S., which is a question the employer can ask you and which is appropriate to answer.

Try to change the topic of conversation and avoid the question.

Refuse to answer the question which might cost you the job if you are very uncomfortable with the question. However, consider whether you really want to work somewhere where you are asked questions that are not appropriate.

Before You File a Claim

Before you file a claim for discrimination, you might want to consider that most discrimination is not deliberate. In many cases, the interviewer may simply be ignorant of the law. Even though the interviewer may have ask an illegal question it doesn't necessarily mean that the intent was to discriminate or that a crime has been committed.

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).