Last week, we looked at the “law” from the government website regarding,
“Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination Questions and Answers. These are what they call Federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Laws.
Based on the Federal Law, Title VII, an employer is not allowed to discriminate against anyone based on your age, sex, race, where you were born (natural origin) or religion.
Let’s look at four areas that technically in the interview you should not be asked these interview questions, but may be asked.
THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO ASK YOU:
#1 Questions relative to your age, your birth date, whether you are pregnant or the ages of your children are legally inappropriate interview questions.
They are only allowed by law to ask you if you are over 18.
#2 Questions, if you are female relating you asking you, what your maiden name is/was, what your current marital status is, how many children you have ( they are really looking for the number of dependents), if you are married what you spouse does for a living., are legally inappropriate interview questions.
They are as a common social courtesy allowed to ask you how you like to be addressed. They may also need to know when they are doing reference checks in the future, if you went by different/another last name or nickname to avoid negative confusion while attempting to do your reference checks.
#3 Questions asking you about our religion, church, parish, or synagogue, which religious holidays you observe, which political party you belong to or support, or affrications.
They are allowed to ask you about will you be able to work on Saturday or Sunday to subtly find out if your religion will interview with working on common religious days.
#4 Questions regarding seeking information from you about your ancestry, national origin (where you were born) or your parent’s. They are not allowed to ask you questions about the naturalization status of your spouse, children or parents.
They are allowed to ask you if you are a United States citizen or a resident alien that has the right to work in the United States legally.
#5 Questions that ask you how your acquired the ability to speak, read, or write in a foreign language. They cannot ask you what your native language is, or how you acquired that knowledge of that language.
They can ask you what languages you are fluent in, providing it is pertinent for the job you are interviewing for.
Next week I will talk about how to “cope” with the illegal questions when you find yourself in the interview with someone directly asking you what you feel is an illegal question.
Have a great week!
For additional job search information visit my other blog, “Sweet Job Advice”, located at www.TheJobSearchExperts.com
Focus on Keeping Good Rapport when Asked Illegal Interview Questions
Warmly,
Eleanor Anne Sweet
The Job Search Expert. Tm
The Expert in Job Search Solutions. Tm
Copyright 2015
PS
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