As we’ve discussed in previous posts, federal discrimination laws prohibit employers from engaging in discriminatory conduct during employment. This also includes the pre-employment interview process. Employers cannot make a hiring decision based on a person’s age, race, religion, sex, national origin, or disability.
Sometimes, employers trying to gather as much information as possible about an applicant will rely on preconceived notions and stereotypes in doing so.
A few of the problematic questions employers routinely ask are:
- whether an applicant is married, engaged, single, or divorced;
- whether an applicant has any children and, if so, how old they are;
- whether an applicant plans on becoming pregnant;
- what an applicant’s spouse or boyfriend does for a living;
- whether an applicant attends religious services and, if so, what days; and
- the origins of an applicant’s last name.