Just Jenney

Our office is currently going through the hiring process to fill three positions, and will start interviewing candidates soon. Everyone on our department's staff (there are 9 of us in all) is involved in the interviewing process, and just yesterday we got a hand-out from HR which lists what kinds of questions we can and can't ask the candidates.

I know this issue comes up fairly frequently on this board (and elsewhere on BE), particularly about what employers can and can't legally ask you about your immigration status. I thought I'd post the list I received -- which applies to ALL job applicants, not just immigrants -- because it makes things very clear:



Most questions that cross legal lines are protected by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) (regarding race, gender, age, religion, etc). Rather simple and seemingly non-threatening questions can easily violate one of the aforementioned dangers when conducting interviews. The following are examples of questions that should be avoided in interviews because they may be alleged to show illegal bias:

AGE
Question(s) to Avoid
How old are you?
What is your date of birth?

Possible Alternative(s)
Are you {ENTER AGE} or over?
Do you meet the state minimum age requirements for work?


ARRESTS
Question(s) to Avoid
Have you ever been arrested?

Possible Alternative(s)
Have you ever been convicted of a crime? If yes, when and for what.


BIRTHPLACE
Question(s) to Avoid
Where were you born?
Where were your parents born?
Can you provide us with a birth certificate?

Possible Alternative(s)
Can you provide legal proof of right to work in the United States?


CITIZENSHIP
Question(s) to Avoid
What country are you a citizen of?
Are you, your parents, or your spouse native-born or naturalized citizens?
Are you or do you intend to become a citizen of the United States?
Do you have the legal right to stay in the United States permanently?
Do you intend to stay permanently in the United States?

Possible Alternative(s)
The questions above may be asked ONLY if they are part of the federal I-9 process.

Can you provide legal proof of right to work in the United States?


DURATION OF RESIDENCE
Question(s) to Avoid
How long have you lived in the United States?
How long have you lived in {STATE or CITY}?

Possible Alternative(s)
Please provide an address where we can reach you.


EDUCATION
Question(s) to Avoid
Do you have a college degree or a high school diploma?

Possible Alternative(s)
The position requires a college degree/high school diploma. Do you fulfill this requirement/condition?


FAMILY
Question(s) to Avoid
Are you married?
Are you pregnant?
Do you have children?
Do you plan to have children?

Possible Alternative(s)
This position/job requires overtime, traveling, and on-call duty (etc). Can you fulfill these requirements?


LANGUAGE
Question(s) to Avoid
What is your native language?
How well do you understand English? Do you write, speak and read English?

Possible Alternative(s)
What language(s) do you speak and write fluently?


MEDICAL CONDITIONS/DISABILITIES
Question(s) to Avoid
Do you have a disability?
Do you have any health problems?
Have you been injured on the job?
Have you ever filed a workers compensation claim?

Possible Alternative(s)
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits questions such as the ones listed above. Employers may ask: Can you perform the essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodation?


MILITARY SERVICE
Question(s) to Avoid
What kind of discharge did you receive from the military?

Possible Alternative(s)
Have you served in the military?
When did you serve in the military?
What sort of training did you receive?


NAME
Question(s) to Avoid
What is your maiden name?
Have you ever changed your name?

Possible Alternative(s)
What is your full name?
Have you ever worked for this company under a different name?


PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES
Question(s) to Avoid
How tall are you?
How much do you weigh?

Possible Alternative(s)
Questions, such as those listed above, can only be asked if they are a Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)


RACE
Question(s) to Avoid
What is your racial background?

Possible Alternative(s)
Federal law forbids discrimination based on race; therefore there are no alternative questions


RELATIVES
Question(s) to Avoid
Who is the relative that we should notify in the case of an emergency?

Possible Alternative(s)
Who should we notify in the case of an emergency?
Do you have any relatives who are currently working for this company?


RELIGION
Question(s) to Avoid
What religious group do you belong to?
Do you attend church?

Possible Alternative(s)
Questions, such as those listed above, can only be asked if membership within a certain group is a Bona Fide occupational Qualification (BFOQ). For example, if the position is for a rabbi, priest, or other religious official.


SEXUAL ORIENTATION
Question(s) to Avoid
What is your sexual orientation?

Possible Alternative(s)
Although there are no federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, many states, cities, and counties have implemented there own laws.


SMOKING
Question(s) to Avoid
Do you smoke?

Possible Alternative(s)
Although there are no federal laws addressing smokers in the workplace, many states prohibit the discrimination of smokers.

During an interview an employer may explain the company’s smoking policy and rules and ask if the applicant can work under such a policy.


WORK SCHEDULE / AVAILABILITY
Question(s) to Avoid
Can you work on Sunday mornings?
Can you work evenings?
Can you work weekends?

Possible Alternative(s)
This job/position requires Sunday morning, weekend and evening work. Would you be able to work with such a schedule?

ian-mstm

Excellent post! Many thanks.

Ian

Noorah101

Maybe this should be added to the Wiki. Looks like it would be helpful over there!

Kaffy Mintcake

Especially as one could very well be asked one by an interviewer who doesn't know their stuff.

Elvira

Still, what would one do if one *was* asked one of these questions......... without pi$$ing off the interviewer...

(though it's useful to know the law. should be made a sticky/added to the Wiki)

Kaffy Mintcake

That is tricky. But I don't think I'd want to work for that company.

I did have an interview once where the woman interviewing me asked several illegal questions, she would realize it, smack her forehead and apologize. For instance - she asked if I was married - then realized she couldn't and explained she was asking because of travel requirements for the job. I tried to make it into a joke 'you can probably look at my hand for the answer' and that seemed to work.

Maybe the interviewee could answer the question that should have been posed instead.

Ray

Gone are the day's it seems.. when just the special handshake
was enough

meauxna

What a great contribution, Jenney; thanks!

But, I don't understand this part, under Citizenship
Possible Alternative(s)
The questions above may be asked ONLY if they are part of the federal I-9 process.

I don't see how those questions could be part of the I-9 process?


Aww, come on, haven't you ever run an interview? My style is very conversational and I know when I was younger it was too easy to ask a question that went over the line.. your own example is a good one. Now a company that has an established policy of aggressively asking no-go questions is a different story....

I just did a quick google for resources on how the applicant should answer questions that should not have been asked. This advice seems sound to me:

The female candidate was asked, "Do you plan to have children?" She was taken aback by the question and wasn't sure how to answer.

She figured she had three choices:

1. To answer the question honestly even though she did not want to.
2. To tell the interviewer it is none of his business and the question is illegal.
3. To deal with the concern behind the question, ignoring the illegal question itself.

How would you answer the question if you were the female candidate?

The best answer is "C."

An appropriate answer from the candidate might have been, "Whether or not I plan to have children in the future is not really relevant to my career. I plan to work and have a career no matter what happens in my personal life."

----
IOW, take the high road, answer the objection, let the interviewer save face by not telling her "you're so BUSTED!", position your answer in a way that is advantageous for you.
If the interviewer keeps bulldozing through with inappropriate questions, stick to that policy and deal with it afterward. You're never going to win (a job, lawsuit, new friend, whatever) by picking a fight inside a job interview. The person doing wrong isn't going to be the person to set things right in most cases, so take your complaint, if any, to the right person.

Rete

I answered the two questions asked of me honestly. I was asked how I would handle working with two children if they were sick or on vacation and if $12,500 was enough for me to live on.

It was asked with the preface, "I know I'm not suppose to ask this and you don't have to answer"

Kaffy Mintcake

I agree with this advice Meauxna. I actually interview candidates frequently and my style is also conversational. That being said, my questions aren't personal in nature. I try to be frank with the candidate about what's good and maybe not so good about the position that they are interviewing for - because misleading them does both the candidate and us a disservice if they find the job isn't what they thought it would be and don't stay.

I will say that before anyone becomes an interviewer at our company, they go through a training which addresses these very topics. Not to do so puts the company at risk from a liability standpoint. We had an instance many years ago when an interviewer commented on a candidate's last name (a good Irish name) or something similar I think was what he said. The candidate didn't get the job, and the company was in a mess because the candidate claimed that he wasn't hired because he was Irish. Nothing could be further from the truth - but it's just easier to stay away from seemingly innocent comments and questions.

So conversational for me is generally something like ... did you find the office okay? Great! I tend to keep this process pretty informal so if at any point you think of a question you'd like to ask me, please feel free, etc. My questions usually relate to asking the candidate to provide examples of times when they have worked through situations, etc.

I find it's most likely to run into illegal questions when interviewers aren't trained properly, or when they work for a very small company that maybe isn't up to snuff on these policies.

And to be totally honest - I didn't want to work for the company I cited in my example.