How to Recognize Inappropriate Questions Asked During an Interview
Federal laws restrict pre-employment interview questions to avoid employer discrimination, and some state laws provide additional protection. The laws protect religious preference, disability, gender, race and individuals over the age of 40. Questions directed at these issues are improper if the interviewer seeks information not necessary in a hiring decision. You can recognize inappropriate questions because the interviewer doesn't directly relate the question to the job.
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Instructions
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Watch for questions relating to gender. Discrimination laws protect interviewees from questions about the number of children they have or questions that the answer would reveal if you want to have more children. Family obligations for men or women should not be relevant to the job so long as the interviewee is available during working hours. Asking weight and height questions not related to job performance may be improper. If an employer restricts the position to individuals of a certain weight, height or strength training, the restriction must be important to performance of the job and must apply to all employees equally. An interviewer may ask all other names a person has used instead of asking a woman's maiden name. A question about a maiden name is a question about marital status.
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Be aware of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Asking when a person wants to retire can reflect age discrimination. The interviewer should not ask your age or your date of birth---although he can approximate your age based on your high school or college graduation and your number of years of experience. Asking about your education or experience is legitimate to screening for the position and avoids the age discrimination issues for individuals over 40. You may be asked if you are over age 18 to meet the minimum federal requirements under child labor laws.
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React cautiously to questions in areas protected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. These include religious preference, along with race, color, sex and national origin. Employers must protect religious preferences in work assignments unless it creates an undue hardship for the employer. An interviewer should not ask questions about your health, worker's compensation claims or military discharge status. An interviewer cannot ask about your citizenship, but can ask if you are eligible to work in the United States under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. An area not protected by federal law is drug use. An employer can inquire about present drug use or alcohol use, but cannot ask about addiction or alcoholism, reports the University of South Florida.
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Sidestep any pre-employment questions that you recognize as inappropriate or discriminatory. Answer the question affirmatively with a narrow application to the position such as "I will be able to meet your requirements for this job." A careful employer prepares questions in advance to ensure that the questions apply directly to the position. Once you are hired, the employer has more freedom in requesting information from you as a new employee.
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Tips & Warnings
Assume that all questions at the interview and on the application are for screening for the specific position and direct your answers to the position. Refusing to answer questions will not get you the job. Many companies use a form application for all positions and may use the same questions for all positions at the pre-employment interview.
You may see questions on the application form that are not acceptable for the oral pre-employment interview but are acceptable on the application as voluntary information provided for affirmative action programs.
References
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