Interview Questions Prohibited by Federal Law
When an employer is conducting a job interview, he has a wide degree of freedom to ask his prospective hire questions about herself. Legally, an employer can ask anything from why the person wants the job to what his favorite episode of "The Simpsons" was. But federal law explicitly prohibits an employer from asking other questions.
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Citizenship
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An employer is not allowed to ask a prospective employee about his citizenship. According to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, an employer cannot ask during the hiring process whether a person is a U.S. citizen. However, after the job offer has been extended, the employer can ask a person's immigration status.
Prohibited Discrimination
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Employers are also restricted by federal law from asking questions that may lead to the employer discriminating against the applicant on the basis of sexual orientation, race or religious practice, for example. While some questions related to these topics are not expressly prohibited by federal law, the employer should generally steer clear of them to avoid an allegation of discrimination.
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Health
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An employer is not allowed to ask any questions about an employee's health or to ask if the person has a disability. An employer is legally required to provide a person with disabilities with reasonable accommodations as long as the employee can perform the work required of him. An employer is restricted from asking any health-related questions that may lead to discrimination based on health status.
Pregnancy
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Even if a woman is obviously pregnant, an employer would be well advised to not ask her when her baby is due. This is because asking her may raise concerns that the employer is seeking to discriminate against the woman because her pregnancy might result in expensive health-care costs. Such discrimination is prevented by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
Age
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An employer is not allowed to ask a person her age, although the employer can ask her if she is older than 18 and thus legally allowed to hold a full-time job. This is because the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 prevents prospective hires and current employees older than 40 from discrimination.
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