Illegal Interview QuestionsIt is against the law if the employers ask questions regarding your age, marital status, country of origin, religion, sexual orientation and health status and make hiring decisions discriminately against you based on your answers to these not job-related related questions.
Some employers simply do not know what is legal and illegal. If you are asked an illegal interview question, you can try the one of following strategies:
- You can try to discover the concerns behind the question and then address them accordingly. You can try to ask the employer by saying something like "I am not quite sure I understand what you are getting at. Would you please explain to me how this issue is related to the position?"
- Alternatively, you may choose to answer the question.
- Or you can gracefully point out that the question is illegal and decline to respond.
Here are some sample illegal interview questions:
| Age: | How old are you? When were you born? When did you graduate from high school? What is your birth date? |
| Citizenship: | Are you a citizen of the United states? Are your parents or spouse citizens of the US? Are you, your parents or your spouse native-born US citizens? On what dates did you , your parents or your spouse acquire US Citizenship? |
| Country of Origin: | What is your nationality? Where were you born? Where are your parents from? What's your heritage? What is your mother tongue? How did you acquire the ability to speak, read or write a foreign language? What language is spoken in your home? What's your heritage? You sound like you have an accent; where are you from? |
| Criminal Record: | Have you ever been arrested? Have you ever spent a night in jail? |
| Disability | Do you have any disabilities or medical conditions? Do you have any handicaps? What caused your handicap? What is the prognosis of your handicap? How serious is your disability? How does your condition affect your abilities? What's your medical history? Have you ever had a serious illness? Do you take any prescription drugs? Have you ever been in rehab? Have you ever been addicted to drugs or been treated for drug addiction? Have you ever been an alcoholic? How much alcohol do you drink? Do you have a drinking problem? How many sick days did you take last year? Do you have AIDS? Have you been diagnosed with any mental illnesses? Are you receiving any psychiatric treatment? Have you ever received worker’s compensation or been on disability leave? Have you had any recent or past illnesses or operations? If yes, list them and give dates when these occurred. What was the date of your last physical exam? How is your family’s health? When did you lose your eyesight (or hearing, leg, etc.)? How? Do you need an accommodation to perform the job? (This question can only be asked after a job offer has been made.) Have you ever taken a test that revealed hearing loss? Do you use any assistive devices for a hearing impairment (such as a hearing aid) or have you in the past? Do you have any hearing loss due to an on-the-job accident or injury? |
| Family | What kind of child care arrangements have you made? How will your spouse feel about the amount of time you will be traveling if you get this job? |
| Health Status | Do you have any pre-existing health conditions? |
| Marital status | What is your marital status? Are you married, divorced, separated, engaged, widowed, etc? Is this your maiden or married name? What is the name of your relative/spouse/children? Do you live with your parents? What type or condition is your military discharge? Can you supply your discharge papers? What is your experience in other than US armed forces? |
| Parental status: | Do you have children? How many kids do you have? Are you planning to have children soon? Do you plan on having more children? Do you plan to have a family? Do you plan to have children? How old are your children? Are you pregnant? |
| Religion: | What religion do you practice? What is your religious affiliation? Which religious holidays will you be Do you take time off from work for religious purposes? taking off from work? Do you attend church? |
Race | What race are you? Are you a member of a minority group? What is your skin color? What color are your eyes and/or hair? Is your spouse Caucasian/Hispanic/African American/Asian, etc? |
| Residence | Do you own or rent your home? Do you live in town? With whom do you live? |
| Sexual orientation | Are you gay? Do you wish to be addressed as Mr., Mrs., Miss, or Ms.? |
