Illegal Interview Questions

During an interview, there is a whole list of questions that an interviewer is not legally allowed to ask you, and cannot ask you to answer on an application. These questions have been prohibited to protect you from discrimination for any of a number of reasons. However, many job applicants don’t know about them and can’t protect themselves. A little knowledge of these questions is needed to protect yourself.

Illegal Interview Questions:

An interviewer cannot ask you for your age or date of birth. These questions open up questions of discrimination, usually against candidates who are older than 40 years old, and are therefore closer to retirement. However, you can be asked if you are over 18 or 21 years of age, especially if you are applying for a job that may be prohibited to minors.

You cannot be asked for information about your marital or family status. There have been numerous cases of discrimination against individuals with families because of concerns regarding high absentee rates. Interviewers should not ask if you are pregnant and are prohibited from asking about your childcare arrangements. A potential employer can ask you about any personal responsibilities that may affect your ability to work.

While questions regarding your physical attributes, such as height and weight, are illegal, there are some exceptions, as long as an employer can prove that such attributes are minimum requirements to complete a job. Questions are often asked in the following format: “Are you able to lift a 50 pound weight and carry it 50 yards, as such tasks are part of the job?” Employers are allowed to remove candidates from their job pool if they are unable to complete tasks.

Employers are prohibited from inquiring about disabilities, medical issues or workers’ compensation histories specifically. They can ask questions regarding an applicant’s ability to complete certain tasks. Additionally, once a job offer has been accepted, an employer can ask for a medical history or exam. These records should be held in strict confidence.

You are able to volunteer any of this information if you feel it is appropriate or might help you land the job. However, in some cases, potential employers will ask you to not share the information, if only to protect themselves from accusations of discrimination later.

What do you do if an interviewer asks you one of these questions? You can simply mention that you don’t think it’s relevant to the job and quickly move on to something that is. You don’t, however, want to accuse the interviewer of discrimination or be otherwise antagonistic, unless you’ve decided that you no longer want the job in question. If you do answer these questions and feel that the employer discriminates against you because of them, you may have grounds for a legal case.

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