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Five Illegal Questions in the U.S.

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Submitted Sep 5 at 3:11pm

Five Illegal Questions in the US

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Transcript:

The three most stressful situations in life are said to be

ending a marriage, dealing with death, and moving to a
new home. Many people would add one more experience
to that list – a job interview.

Finding a good job is difficult enough. Add to that the fact

that employers may ask some very personal questions
during a job interview. In the United States, it is illegal for
employers to raise some of these issues.

See how they compare to job interviews in your country.

In a job interview, you must show your best side. You

must sell yourself and show the interviewer that you are
the best candidate for the job.
To do this you must answer question after question.
A prospective employer will want to know about your
skills, qualifications, past work experiences, and goals.

The interviewer is the person asking the questions.

Interviewers want to learn as much as they can about the
interviewee, the person seeking employment. This can
cause an uneven balance of power and lead to some
difficult questions. In the United States, a few of those
questions are not just difficult, they are illegal.

There are many websites that offer advice on careers

and how to prepare for a job interview. You may have
used some of these sites, such
as Monster.com and LinkedIn.

The following five areas showed up in all the reports and

lists I examined during my recent searches. All of these
areas of questioning are considered illegal in the United
States.

1. Sex questions are off-limits.

It is very easy for an interviewer to discriminate based
on a person’s gender or sex. If you are a woman, you
may be asked, “Are you comfortable managing a team of
men?” If you are man, you may be asked, “Would you
feel comfortable having a woman as a boss?”

In the United States, any question related

to gender should not be raised during the job interview.
But if gender does come up, answer the question by
stating your past work experiences that show you can do
the job, regardless of whether you are a woman or a
man.
2. Questions about marriage and
children are illegal.
People with children love talking about them. But during a
job interview, it's not the time. Questions such as, “Do
you have children?” or “Do you plan to work after having
children?” are not legal to ask.

Naturally, future employers want to know how long you

plan to be with them if you are hired. Hiring people takes
time and, as they say, time is money. But it is illegal to
not hire someone because they have children or are
planning on having a child in the future.

It is legal for a prospective employer to ask, “What

hours can you work?” or “Do you have responsibilities
that might keep you from doing your job?” These
questions are legal because they are directly related to
the job and not tied to your personal life.

Any question related to your marital status, whether you

are married, is considered illegal in the U.S. But they are
common. Asking someone, “Are you married?” is a
loaded question, a question looking for more than what is
simply asked. A question about marriage is illegal
because it may lead to information about your sexual
orientation -- whether you are gay, straight or bisexual.
And that is no one’s business but your own.

3. Your citizenship and nationality are

private.
It is illegal for a U.S. business to hire someone who is not
permitted to work in the country. But the only way a
company can explore the issue legally is to ask the
question directly - “Can you work legally in the United
States?” Done.

If an interviewer asks things such as, “Where are you

from?” or “Where were you born?” they have, again,
crossed into Illegal Land. These may seem like innocent
questions. But they are illegal because it involves your
country of birth. Employers in the U.S. cannot legally ask
about your nationality.

This also extends to language. It is not the employer’s

lawful right to know if a language is your first language.
However, they can legally ask what other languages you
know.

4. Asking about religion is a no-no.

Employers may want to ask which religious holidays you
observe to see if it may interfere with work. But questions
about your religion are illegal.

Employers can legally ask if you can work on a Sunday, a

day when many Christians attend religious services.

5. Your age is your business. Not

theirs.
The question, “How long have you been working?” may
seem fine. But this question is all about
age discrimination. It is also illegal for an interviewer to
ask what year you completed high school or college or
even your birthday. It is easy enough to do the math. It is
legal for an interviewer to ask you how long you have
been working in a certain industry. Again, the question is
tied to the job and not your personal life.

It can be difficult to answer personal questions during a

job interview. After all, if you want the job, you do not
want to seem difficult. If a question seems illegal or just
makes you feel uneasy, simply direct the question back to
the job and your qualifications.

Of course, you do not have to answer any question that

you feel is insulting or illegal. This, however, may cost you
the job.

In the end it is a personal decision. But always know your

rights.

*This report was based on online resources including

Monster.com, LinkedIn, HumanResourcesAbout.com
and About.com/careers. Anna Matteo wrote this story for
VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

_______________________________________________

Words in this Story

candidate – n. a person who is being considered for a
job, position, award, etc.

qualification – n. a special skill or type of experience or

knowledge that makes someone suitable to do a
particular job or activity

prospective – adj. likely to be or become something

specified in the future

sexual orientation – n. the inclination of an individual

with respect to heterosexual, homosexual and bisexual
behavior

discriminatory – adj. unfairly treating a person or group

of people differently from other people or groups of
people. The noun is discrimination.

gender – n. the state of being male or female

hire – v. to give work or a job to someone in exchange
for wages or a salary; n. someone who has been hired
for a job

Source: This work is an adaptation of "Five Illegal

Questions in the U.S
(https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/five-illegal-job-
interview-questions/2492943.html) ". by VOA News
(https://www.google.com/search?
gs_ssp=eJzj4tDP1TcoNCiyVGA0YHRg8OIoy09UyEstLwYAS
8) licensed under Public Domain / U.S. Government
Works (https://www.usa.gov/copyrighted-government-
works) . Adapted content is licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution 4.0 License, except where noted. To
view a copy of this license,
visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Question 1 2 / 2 pts

Is the following question OK (appropriate) or not OK

(illegal) to ask in an interview in the United States?

"Are you married?"

OK

Not OK
Question 2 2 / 2 pts

Is the following question OK (appropriate) or not OK

(illegal) to ask in an interview in the United States?

"Can you work legally in the United States?"

OK

Not OK

Question 3 2 / 2 pts

Is the following question OK (appropriate) or not OK

(illegal) to ask in an interview in the United States?

"Is English your first language?"

OK

Not OK

Question 4 2 / 2 pts
Is the following question OK (appropriate) or not OK
(illegal) to ask in an interview in the United States?

"Do you pray every day?"

OK

Not OK

Question 5 2 / 2 pts

Is the following question OK (appropriate) or not OK

(illegal) to ask in an interview in the United States?

"What hours can you work?"

OK

Not OK