Very often during interviews our desire to please and to seem personable and open can get us into trouble before we realize what was said and its possible impact. By revealing some personal information that employers are not legally permitted to inquire about we could dramatically reduce our chances of landing the job. While we want to be forthcoming about our successes and accomplishments, we need to use some caution. It is important to avoid bringing up topics of discussion, which some employers could use to screen us out of a potential position.

Most of these topics pertain to our private lives and personal background. Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that employers may not discriminate against any person on the basis of sex, race, age, national origin or religion. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 forbids employment discrimination against workers age 40 or older. Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991 protects people with disabilities from discrimination in any aspect of employment. Questions designed to elicit information about any of these areas are illegal and should not be asked during a job interview. Questions pertaining to marital status, sexual preference, pregnancy, future childbearing plans, unwed motherhood, childcare, and the number and ages of children are also illegal.

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing laws that help prevent discrimination. Each state also has its own discrimination laws, which often go further in protecting the rights of applicants during job interviews.

Skills, experience, ambition and interests are generally allowable subjects of pre-employment questions. Employers are also allowed to ask questions to learn about a candidate’s motivation and personality. These questions can relate to former employment positions and related responsibilities.

Legal questions that can allay an employer’s fears regarding family issues might include asking if a person felt he or she would have any obstacles, obligations, or responsibilities that might affect his or her work performance or attendance and asking if the candidate would be willing to travel or relocate if necessary. Regarding national origin, some questions that can legally be asked are “Can you provide proof of eligibility to work in the U.S. once you are hired?” and “Do you have language abilities other than English which might be useful in performing the job successfully?” Legal questions dealing with age can only pertain to the issue of being old enough to work legally in that area, or if under age, does the person have a work permit? When addressing disabilities, an employer should inform all applicants of the essential functions of the position and attendance requirements. The employer may then ask whether each applicant can perform all the duties required with or without reasonable accommodation.

When faced with potentially illegal questions during an interview we, of course, have the right to refuse to answer. However, this will likely end the interview, at least in the employer’s mind (where it really counts). Other than this, we have two options when faced with these loaded questions:

1. Answer the question if you don’t feel it will hurt your chances of being hired, or

2. Answer the question you think they are trying to ask if you believe they have good intentions.

When faced with charges of discrimination, employers bear the burden of proving that answers to any questions either on the application or during the interview are not used in a discriminatory manner for making hiring and placement decisions as prohibited by law. But, before you file a claim for discrimination you might want to consider that most
discrimination is not deliberate. Even though the interviewer may have asked an illegal question, it does not necessarily mean that the employer intends to discriminate or that a crime was committed.

The guiding rule behind any interview question should be: Can the employer demonstrate a job-related necessity for asking the question? The intent behind the question and how the information is to be used by the employer are important in determining the appropriateness of an interview question. Some questions may be legal or illegal depending on the employer’s intent in asking. In many cases, the employer may simply be ignorant of the law. It is often feasible and wise to answer the intent of the question without going into personal information by assuring the employer that your career is a top priority for you and that you have arranged your life around it.