Questioning During An Interview Should Focus On Job Qualifications

What Potential Employers Can and Cannot Ask During an Interview

Are you married? How old are you? Are you gay? Do you go to church on Sundays? Are you Hispanic? If you have ever been asked such questions during a job interview the interviewer likely broke the law if the decision NOT to hire you was based on your answer to questions invoking age, race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, ancestry, religion, or sexual orientation.

However, it is difficult to know whether a question is illegal. A good benchmark is whether the question has anything to do with the qualifications necessary to perform the job for which you are interviewing.

Short of filing a lawsuit, what should you do if you believe you were asked an illegal question during a job interview? The first step is to contact the human relations manager at the place of employment or the professional recruiter if you used one. It may be that the individual who interviewed you did not know such questions were illegal and instead thought he or she was simply “getting to know you” or “making small talk.” Regardless, you should not feel forced to answer a question you do not feel comfortable answering or believe is irrelevant to your qualifications for the job sought.

If you are asked such an inappropriate question and denied the position, contact the Law Offices of Damian Christian Shammas, LLC to discuss your options.