Seemingly Innocent Job Interview Questions That Can Get You Sued

An initial job interview with an applicant for a position with your business can seem like a harmless process. After all, it’s just a fact finding mission, and a chance to evaluate a potential hire. What could go wrong, other than possibly not hiring the right person?

It turns out, for an employer, a lot can go wrong. You can end up being sued and owing a lot of money just for asking the wrong questions. What’s worse is that the difference between a legally acceptable question and a question that can get you sued for discrimination is often very vague.

Gender and Pregnancy Discrimination

Imagine that you are hiring a female applicant, and you ask her whether she is married and whether she may want to start a family one day. On the surface, you may just be asking friendly questions or just questions to get to know that applicant as a person.

But those kinds of questions can be seen as gender and pregnancy discrimination. Also avoid questions that ask about someone’s arrangements for their kids while the parent is at work (i.e., “do you have a babysitter?” or “are the kids in after school care?”).

Telling a female applicant that the job “could be very dangerous” or “could require a lot of heavy lifting” can also be seen as discriminatory, as it may sound like you have concerns that a woman applicant cannot or does not want to do these things.

Immigration and National Origin

Immigration based questions can get you in trouble on two fronts. First, you cannot discriminate against employees on the basis of their immigration status (you can, of course, fire or not hire them if they turn out to be legally unable to work after they are checked out by the government).

It also can get you in trouble because asking about immigration issues can sound a lot like asking questions about national origin, which sounds a lot like discriminating illegally on the basis of national origin. In fact, although it may sound like friendly “get to know you” talk, try to avoid asking what country someone is from, or what their ethnic background is at all.

Disability Discrimination

You probably know enough not to ask someone about a disability. Even asking about gaps in past employment can be seen as disability discrimination. You can follow up with basic questions if an applicant volunteers this information.

Asking about a family member’s disability can lead to trouble as well. Asking if an applicant has to care for a sick relative, or take a sick child, spouse or parent to the doctor, all can be construed as Americans with Disabilities Act violations.

Age Questions

Age discrimination is common. Never ask an applicant whether he or she “has enough energy” for the job, or make comments that an applicant has been “working a long time,” or that “we deal with a lot of young clients here” even just jokingly.

Get help with your hiring process, and stay out of legal trouble. Let our employment and commercial litigation attorneys help you. Call the West Palm Beach business litigation lawyers at Pike & Lustig today.

Sources:

shrm.org/topics-tools/news/inclusion-equity-diversity/discriminatory-questions-are-plaguing-the-interview-process

hrdive.com/news/gender-discrimination-interview/711747/