Under
the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act questions regarding
a candidate's race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, religion
and national origin are illegal. The Americans with Disabilities
Act prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities,
and The Employment Act protects against discrimination based
on a person's age.
SAMPLE
QUESTIONS:
(Employers should not be asking these kinds of questions)
RELIGION:
What church do you attend? What religious holidays do you
observe?
AGE:
What year did you graduate from high school?
AGE:
How old are you?
MARITAL
STATUS/FAMILY/WORK SCHEDULE/TRAVEL: Are you pregnant? Are
you married? What provisions have you made for childcare?
Keep in mind that if there are special requirements for the
job (ie: on - call), the employer may ask a question such
as: To fill this position you must take call and when on call,
you must report to work within 20 minutes. Is there any problem
this presents?
ECONOMIC
STATUS: Are there problems with your credit rating? Have you
ever had trouble with bills or collection agencies?
ORGANIZATIONAL
AFFILIATION: What clubs or organizations do you belong?
MEDICAL
STATUS: Are you healthy? How many days were you absent from
work last year? Have you ever been hospitalized? Have you
been treated for alcohol or drug abuse?
WORK
HISTORY: Have you ever filed for Worker's Compensation?
CITIZENSHIP:
Are you a US citizen? The employer should not ask if you if
you are a citizen. However, it is perfectly acceptable for
the employer to ask if you are authorized to work in the US.
What
should you do on an interview if you are asked a question
that is unacceptable?
There
are three basic ways that you may choose to address in appropriate
or illegal questions.
1. You
may choose to go ahead and answer the question, if you desire
to do so. However, keep in mind that when you provide information
to a potential employer that is not job-related, you may in
fact be giving an answer that could potentially prevent yourself
from getting the job.
2. Refusing
to answer the question is also an option, but the manner in
which you phrase your refusal is of utmost importance. An
outright refusal to answer a question on the part of a job
candidate, even though it may be well within your rights to
do so, may not be the most tactful way of handling an inappropriate
question.
3. The
third choice involves your probing for the intent of the employer
in asking the question and responding with an answer that
is appropriate. For example, the employer asks you; Who will
care for your children when you are on call at the hospital?
You might reply, "I am able to fully meet the on-call
and schedule requirements that this job requires." Another
sample response you may give is: "I'd like to help you
learn more about my particular skills and qualifications for
this position, however, I'm having some difficulty in understanding
how (name the particular issue: age, marital status, religion,
etc) questions relate to my ability to perform this job.
Keep
calm, stay professional at all times, and remember that the
interviewer may very likely be impressed by your ability to
gracefully handle an inappropriate question. The interviewer
probably does not intent to offend you, and inexperienced
or untrained interviewers may unintentionally ask questions
that are inappropriate. Hopefully, you will never be asked
an inappropriate question, but knowing in advance how to handle
these types of situations, will make you more prepared on
your next job interview.
