The topics that should be off limit in most employment interviews include religion, national origin, race, marital status, parental status, age, disability, sex, political affiliation, criminal records, and other personal information such as financial/credit history.
Marital/Parental Status
Do not inquire about marital or parental status, including pregnancy, number or
age of children, or information about child care arrangements. You may ask if the
candidate can meet certain work schedules, but this question must be asked of both
males and females.
National Origin
You should not ask about a person's birthplace or citizenship. You may ask, "If hired, can
you provide documentation of your eligibility to work in the U.S.?" However, it is
not necessary to ask this at the interview stage, since all new employees must complete
the federal I-9 form, which requires that documentation. If you decide to ask
this question in the interview, you should ask it of all interviewees. Do not
ask it only to those whose appearance or language leads you to suspect foreign
citizenship. Do not ask questions that would elicit the national origin of the person
or the person's relatives or ancestors. You may ask about language fluency if it is job-related,
but not whether it is the person's first language.
You may ask if the candidate goes by other names. When checking a candidate's work history, knowing former names and nicknames can be important. Do not ask about names in such a way that it would appear to be inquiring about ancestry, national origin, or marital status.
Age
Never ask an applicant's age unless you are interviewing for a position in which
incumbents are legally required to be of a certain age. The only other time a
question regarding age would be appropriate would be to ask minors if they have proof
of age in the form of a work permit.
Religion, Schools, and Organizations
Do not ask any questions related to religion. Advise all candidates of the
working schedule of the job in case it conflicts with religious practices.
Regarding education, do not ask about the religious, racial, or national
affiliation of schools attended. It is acceptable to ask about membership in
professional organizations but not about organizations that reveal race, national
origin, or religious affiliation.
Criminal Records
Do not inquire about arrests; however, you may explore convictions if they are
job-related. For example, you could inquire about an embezzling conviction if
you are hiring a bookkeeper since such a conviction would reasonably relate to
one's fitness to perform the duties of the position.
Military Service
Ask about education and experience during military service, but do not inquire
about the type of discharge. Such an inquiry could be viewed as an attempt to gain
information about a disability, arrests, or unrelated convictions.
Persons with Disabilities
With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), interview
questions in the area of a job's physical requirements and applicants' abilities
and disabilities have become complicated and full of potential pitfalls. Basic guidelines
are covered in ADA Interviewing Guidelines.
Interviewers should be trained to clearly describe the requirements of the job, and to focus on the applicant's ability to meet them. All candidates may be asked if they are able to perform all of the essential job assignments safely. If a candidate voluntarily discloses a disability, or the candidate has an obvious disability that you reasonably believe will require accommodation to perform the job, you may ask limited follow-up questions. You may ask what type of reasonable accommodation may be required to perform the job. However, do not ask questions regarding the nature or severity of a disability.
Job Attendance
An interviewer may state the job's attendance requirements and ask the candidate if he
or she can meet them. It is also legitimate to inquire about an applicant's attendance record at
previous jobs, because employees are sometimes absent for reasons other than illness.
However, it is not permissible to ask how many absences at a previous job were due to illness.
It is also not permissible to ask about prior job-related injuries or workers' compensation
claims. Also, don't ask about the health of family members or associates, because it
is illegal under the ADA to discriminate against a candidate based on the
person's relationship or association with an individual who has a disability.
Drug Usage
An interviewer may legitimately ask a candidate about current use of illegal drugs, but
not prior use. Also, do not ask about an applicant's current use of prescription or
other legal medication unless it is to validate a positive test for illegal drug use.
Demonstrating Performance
If a candidate is going to be asked to demonstrate how job related functions would be
performed, exercise extreme caution. If a candidate requests an accommodation in order
to demonstrate performance of a job function, the employer needs to either provide the
accommodation or ask the candidate to describe how the function would be performed.
In any case where a demonstration will be performed, an employer can best ensure his
or her selection process is fair and legal by simply making the request to all candidates
and being prepared to respond to a request for accommodation.
General Interview Guidelines
Once the list of job-related interview questions is created, use it consistently
for all applicants for the same position.
