How to Detect Illegal Job Interview Questions

When you go to a job interview, you should be prepared in more than one sense. It is common knowledge to go dressed to impress and answer the interviewer's questions with confidence; but you should also be prepared to know what "illegal" questions are and how to handle them. The United States has laws since the 1960s that protect from discrimination therefore certain questions are illegal. There are some gray areas concerning a few of these questions.

Things You'll Need

• Knowledge

Instructions

1. The employer cannot ask "How old are you?" but it is legal to ask "Are you 18 or older" as some companies will not hire minors. The simple answer is a yes or no with out going into details.

2. A potential employer can ask "Are you eligible to work in the U.S.?" but he or she cannot ask your nationality or if you are a U.S. citizen.

3. Some illegal questions can be harder to detect, especially if the interviewer is using a more conversational approach and for instance asks you what church you go to to discover your religion. The best approach is to bring it back to a job-related conversation, or ask them if that has to do with the position that you are applying for.

4. You can also state that you feel uncomfortable answering such personal questions. The same goes for "Are you married or single?" "Do you have any kids or plan to?"
   Of course, a better way is to ask questions more on the line of "This job will require a lot of traveling; are you fine with this aspect of the job?" Or "Can you relocate?" These questions should be asked only if the job may require relocation or travel -- otherwise, they are irrelevant and don't need to be answered.

5. Questions about housing can be at risk too. Asking an interviewee if they rent or own is discriminatory because it seems aimed to discover your financial background. It is OK to ask "Where do you live and how long?" But mainly these questions should be asked only if the company is doing some kind of background check that you are aware of.

6. Another illegal question area has to do with health and physical conditions. "Are you legally blind?" or even "Did you ever file a workers compensation claim?" are clearly discriminatory. The best way is to say "These are the expected job duties; can you perform them with reasonable accommodation?"

7. When it comes to language knowledge, an interviewer can ask what languages you speak, read or write only if multilingualism is relevant to the job. So asking you what language you speak at home is passing the line.

8. There is a possibility that the interviewer may not be aware that they are asking illegal questions. But most of the time the person knows, and if you feel uncomfortable answering any of their questions and you are not hired, it is probably for the best.

References

• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination Questions And Answers