What's with the illegal interview questions??!?

[midnight armadillo]

I've had two interviews recently in which I've been asked if I had kids. :wtf: This is blatantly illegal. The interviews were quite friendly, and I know the person was just being friendly and conversational, but still...the existence of my son should never be an issue in an interview! One guy even mentioned eyeballing the car seat in my car.

Of the two companies, one was run by a lunatic who'd drunk the dot-com koolaid about 5 years too late ("we're gonna change the world!" Seriously.) and the other is a stable company with great people where I'd love to work. I'm not about to file a lawsuit or anything, but still, where's the HR people to administer a good whack with the clue stick when you need 'em?

[smada]

1. I think too many overzealous lawyers

have trained us all to be overly sensitive. Sometimes people are just being friendly and conversational. Personally, I would hate to live in a country where everyone has to be so utterly conscious of every word they can and cannot say.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

3. or too many bigoted people have made

"normal" conversational topics controversial

[Misunderestimator]

4. Overly sensitive? How about employers who use such personal information

...to discriminate against someone? That's the very reason that these questions are illegal. If I interview somewhere and am asked if I have children and I said yes, they could use that information to assume that I will not be a 60-hour-per-week worker. I NEVER ask those types of questions in interviews, and never should.

This isn't about worrying about every thing you say, but if you are in a position to hire people and interview them, it comes with the territory to be conscious of not discriminating.

[GOPisEvil]

7. That's exactly what that question is designed to do.

It's to determine who will be more likely to be available to travel extensively at short notice, stay late, etc. In other words, they are hoping that you have no life of your own, so you can give yours to them.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

8. Affirmative action for married people, anyone?

Might it become necessary?

[Misunderestimator]

10. Exactly! Which is why it is and should be illegal to ask.

[smada]

11. If they expect you to work 60 hours a week

and you have kids, you're not going to be a good fit with the company anyway.

[Misunderestimator]

14. Where I work, people often work 50-60 hours on a 40 hour schedule...

The employer would DEFINITELY love to get a bunch of single people without children to work for them, to drain as much time from their personal lives as possible. Fortunately, expecting someone to work 60 hours a week who is paid a salary as a full-time (40-hour a week) employee is also illegal.

(Spoken as someone who normally works 50-60 hours a week on a 40-hour a week salary.)

[GOPisEvil]

16. Single people use less benefits, too.

They don't have to take off for sick kids, first day of school, sick spouse, etc...

In fact, I'm the perfect employee. I have no life and no kids. Someone should hire me for a job that pays twice what I make here. ;-)

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

15. If they expect you to work 60 hours a week

This (1) should be explicit in the job description, (2) should be paid accordingly, and (3) the interview question should be, "Are you aware that you'll have to work 60 hours a week? Are you able to?"

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

5. Hm.

[KurtNYC]

2. I dont list the year I graduated from college

so they always ask that. Usually one or two illegal questions per interview. I suspect that it may be one way to see how lawsuit-oriented your are before they have let you in the door.

They make it something as innocent sounding as possible, eg. not "how old are you" but "when did you graduate?"

[slackmaster]

6. Illegal questions are usually the result of inexperienced, poorly trained

people trying to pretend they know how to give an interview.

[midnight armadillo]

19. Yes there's that

That's exactly it in a lot of cases, I think. The first interview this happened to me in (the lunatic one) after asked what my wife did (she's home w/ baby these days) followed by a suggetion that my working insane hours wouldn't be a problem. I am very glad I turned down that offer.

There's probably a general lack of knowledge about the illegal/legal questions one can ask, but there's always that possibility that they're out to disqualify you for the job by asking.

[LoZoccolo]

9. I wonder if you can lie and get away with it if found out.

Or if you could sue them for even asking them if you don't get the job.

[Misunderestimator]

12. Yes, you can sue them for asking. It would be hard to prove, though...

and likely not worth the time and expense. Probably why so many people still get away with asking these sorts of questions.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

13. Miniature tape recorders are your friends. (nt)

[asthmaticeog]

17. I was once asked about my politics.

No kidding. It was for an advertising design job at a Clear Channel radio station. The interviewer directly asked about my political beliefs and how they might affect my views about large corporations (specifically Clear Channel, she implied without saying). TOTALLY illegal. So without answering the question directly, I pointed out that the clothing, shoes and eyeglasses I wore to the interview, the portfolio case I brought to the interview and the car I drove to the interview were all made by big corporations, as was the coffee I drank before I left the house that morning (lie - it was Fair Trade), the coffeepot I made it with and the carpet upon which I spilled a bit (true). All of which got her off the subject without me having to approach the truth that I'd just as soon have burnt that fucking building to the ground as have interviewed with that evil, evil company, but if they wanted to give me fat cash to spend everywhere BUT with their scummy advertisers, that suited me fine.

Someone else got the job, I suppose it goes without saying.

[Elidor]

18. I had a repube ask: "So...you ever smoke any pot?"

I got the job anyway. But they know they can ask whatever they want. Sometimes they get sued, but mostly they get away with it.