9 things hiring managers should never ask about in a job interview
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You may think asking a job candidate whether they have kids is a totally innocuous icebreaker, but it's one of many topics best left alone during a job interview.
While very few specific interview questions are by themselves illegal to ask, Laura Davis, an associate professor with the Department of Finance and Legal Studies at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, explains in the Journal of Employment and Labor Law that some questions may be used as evidence of discrimination and, so, are ill-advised to ask.
"Since it is reasonable to assume that all questions in an interview are asked for some purpose and that hiring decisions are made on the basis of the answers given, any question asked during the interview can be used as circumstantial evidence of a prohibited discriminatory motive," she says.
In the US, certain personal characteristics are part of a protected class and can't be targeted for discrimination thanks to certain federal or state anti-discrimination laws.
"Even without any intentional ill will, employers who have knowledge concerning the protected class status of applicants may make biased assumptions about their capabilities or work habits," Davis says.
She suggests the best approach to take while conducting an interview is focusing on the specific criteria needed to perform the job. She says this will help you find the most able employees and protect you from being found to be discriminatory.
Here are some topics you're better off not bringing to the table:
Aaron Taube contributed to an earlier version of this article.
Family
Getty Images/Daniel Berehulak
Steer clear of questions about the candidate's marital status or children.
Some states, like New York, explicitly ban employers from discriminating against applicants based on their marital status.
While Title VII, the portion of the federal Civil Rights Act that prohibits employment discrimination, does not bar employers from asking for information relating to protected class status, it does ban discriminatory employment decisions made on the basis of this information.
Because of this, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) — which brings lawsuits against employers on behalf of workers — advises employers against asking about marital status or number of children because these questions are often used to discriminate against female employees (and discriminating against women is illegal).
Questions that may be regarded as evidence of intent to discriminate include:
"Are you pregnant?"
"Are you married?"
"Do you plan to get married?"
"How many kids do you have?"
"How old are your kids?"
"Do you plan to have kids?"
"What are your child care arrangements?"
"What does your spouse do?"
"What's your spouse's name?"
Physical or mental impairment
REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
The American Disabilities Act bars employers from asking interview questions that are likely to reveal the existence of a disability before making a job offer.
These questions could include:
"Do you have a heart condition?"
"Do you have asthma or any other difficulties breathing?"
"Do you have a disability that would interfere with your ability to perform the job?"
"How many days were you sick last year?"
"Have you ever filed for workers' compensation? Have you ever been injured on the job?"
"Have you ever been treated for mental health problems?"
"What prescription drugs are you currently taking?"
Arrest and conviction
Reuters/Joshua Lott
Some states explicitly prohibit employers from asking about applicants' criminal history unless the crime is directly related to the job they are interviewing for.
In states where the question is not explicitly prohibited, questions about arrests and convictions can be unlawful if they disproportionately eliminate minority applicants and the practice is unrelated to successful job performance, according to the EEOC.
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