To apply for employment you may include a resume well-written, lengthy applications and sweaty hands. But what should you respond when you make illegal questions during an interview? Below is what you should expect and what you should do if this happens. Don’t forget to download the Guide To Hiring [PDF] to find out what your rights are when looking for employment.
Employers have wide freedom in regards to the type of questions you can ask during an interview. However, a number of laws that emerged in the decade of the sixties made that certain types of personal information is protected, so that it is forbidden to ask questions about the race, belief, marital status, age, etc, of the applicant. States and municipalities have established even more protections, making it illegal to ask about the sexual orientation of the applicant. The affirmative action programs in support of these laws and require companies with government contracts, and more than 50 employees to have a workforce representative of the diversity in the society.
Does that mean that the process is fair? Does that mean that the best candidate is always hired?
Follow dreaming. Although an employer cannot discriminate against you because of the color of their skin, well you can do it by the color of their shoes. It is forbidden to pursue certain candidates in accordance with their religion, but does not harm the employer to get to know your dad or that you think you have a winning smile. An employer can discriminate as you see fit, as long as not to discriminate against certain aspects protected.
From the point of view of an employer, the interview process is to assess whether a candidate is right for a job, and a culture of work. The person who hires you want to incorporate or reject the applicant as soon as possible, and everything is at stake, from the dress and composure until the education and the experience. (Namely, the small talk are not really trivial.) That is why employers have problems when they ask questions to an applicant on aspects that are protected by the law.
Where is it? Do you have any disability? What’s that got to do with the job?
If you are asked an Illegal Question, What Are Your Options?
Let know the interviewer that the question is illegal.
You can do so discreetly. If that’s what predisposes wrong with your interviewer, so be it. Thank you discovered immediately that the company is still in the Dark Ages.
Answer.
If you can respond honestly to what they want to know, I might as well answer the question. If the question is blatantly illegal, it can also lie. What can you do? Do you fire him for not allowing them to violate your civil rights?
File a Complaint
Please contact the office of Equal Employment Opportunity
and present a complaint.
If you are looking for work and want to get more information about your protected information and illegal questions, it will be useful to read a book on the subject. Best Answers to the 201 Most Frequently Asked Interview Questions (the best answers to The 201 most frequently asked questions in a job interview) by Matthew J. DeLuca (1996) is an excellent book and has a chapter dedicated to illegal questions.
See also: Illegal Questions During an Interview and Applicants Women
How to Obtain Legal Assistance with a Problem of Labour Rights
Employees have many rights in the workplace. If you believe that your rights have been violated in the employment context, in their best interest may be to contact a lawyer who specializes in employment law, who will explain your options and protect your legal rights.
