Employers sometimes mistakenly believe that they can ask any questions they want during an interview. After all, it is their business and their decision about which employee they hire. They think this gives them the right to ask anything that they deem prudent.
But this is not actually how it works. Many questions can be discriminatory in nature and should be avoided. Employers who ask them could be accused of discrimination if they then make their hiring decisions based on this information – such as refusing to hire someone based on their answer to an illegal question.
Key questions to watch for
If you’re looking for a job and you’re worried that you’re going to face discrimination, here are some telltale questions to watch out for:
- What race/color/ethnicity would you say you are?
- What country did your parents come from?
- Do you believe in God?
- What was your sex when you were born?
- During the last presidential election, who did you vote for?
- Are you planning on having children in the near future?
These are just a few examples, but you can see how problematic they would be. An employer may think it is reasonable to ask someone if they’re planning on having kids because they are trying to avoid hiring an employee who will need to go on maternity leave. But this is illegal because it would lead to discrimination based on that person’s future pregnancy status, even if they weren’t pregnant at the time.
If you have experienced this type of discrimination, you need to know what legal steps you can take. Discrimination does still happen, even though it is expressly prohibited, so there are legal solutions for you to use.