ILLEGAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

ISGF is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This means that we believe in and strictly uphold The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Since this act was established, there have been quite a few supplemental additions regulating potentially discriminatory questions.

Legal vs. illegal interview questions can vary from state to state with even some cities having additional restrictions. Because ISGF operates nationally, this can get a little confusing. This section will cover common interview questions to avoid, some of which only apply to specific areas.

Remember that the rules surrounding appropriate interview questions apply to the location of the role, not the location of the candidate. In other words, you would follow the laws of the state where the role is located. If you do happen to ask a question and the candidate tells you that the question you asked is illegal for that state or city, simply apologize, inform the candidate that they do not need to answer the question, and continue on with the conversation.

SALARY

In some exclusion areas, asking questions regarding how much a candidate currently makes or made in past positions is illegal. The concern with this line of questioning is that the candidate could be passed up for an opportunity based not matching the compensation being offered or that starting salary could be negatively affected. This is a rather new addition to the restricted questions list and only applies in specific areas.

For all other areas, asking about salary for current and past positions is encouraged and perfectly legal.

Illegal Questions:

• How much do you currently make?
• How much did you make when you worked at…?

Legal Questions:

ILLEGAL STATES	ILLEGAL STATES	ILLEGAL LOCAL PROVISIONS
– Alabama​ – California​ – Colorado​ – Connecticut​ – Delaware​ – Hawaii​ – Illinois​ – Maine​ – Massachusetts ​ – Michigan	– New Jersey​ – New York​ – North Carolina​ – Oregon​ – Puerto Rico​ – Pennsylvania​ – Vermont​ – Virginia – Washington	– Atlanta, GA​ – Chicago, IL​ – Louisville, KY​ – New Orleans, LA​ – Montgomery County, MD​ – Jackson, MS​ – Kansas City, MO​ – St. Louis County, MO​ – Cincinnati, OH​ – Toledo, OH​ – Salt Lake City, UT

CRIMINAL HISTORY (BAN THE BOX)

This topic gets confusing fast. While most areas in the U.S. still permit asking about criminal history, some cities and stated have passed a bill that prohibits questions pertaining to criminal history. This bill is known as Ban-The-Box.

Illegal Questions:

• Have you ever been arrested?

Legal Questions:

• Have you ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor?
• If so, when, where, and what was the final disposition of the case?

ILLEGAL STATES
·       Arizona​ ·       California​ ·       Colorado​ ·       Connecticut​ ·       Delaware​ ·       Georgia​ ·       Hawaii​ ·       Illinois ·       Indiana	·       Kansas​ ·       Kentucky​ ·       Louisiana​ ·       Maryland​ ·       Massachusetts​ ·       Michigan​ ·       Minnesota​ ·       Missouri​ ·       Nebraska	·       Nevada​ ·       New Jersey​ ·       New Mexico​ ·       New York​ ·       North Dakota​ ·       Ohio​ ·       Oklahoma​ ·       Oregon​ ·       Pennsylvania	·       Rhode Island​ ·       Tennessee​ ·       Utah​ ·       Vermont​ ·       Virginia​ ·       Washington​ ·       Wisconsin​

Ban The Box regulations very from location to location, but as a rule of thumb if you are recruiting in the areas listed above, avoid initially asking about criminal history.

When you are interviewing your candidate, be aware that there are states that do not allow you to ask if you’ve been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor.

WORKERS COMPENSATION

If you have not noticed by now, applications no longer ask about workers compensation, this is because it is now illegal to do so. Under no circumstances are you ask if a candidate has ever filed for workers compensation or ever had a work-related injury.

CHILDREN

You should never ask a candidate if they have kids. Throughout the ISGF interview, if a candidate chooses, there are plenty of opportunities for them to bring up having children or not. If a candidate does mention having children, it would be ok for you to talk about them, but you should refrain from making it a main talking point. In addition, you should never draw parallels between an opportunity and the candidate’s children. You never want to give the candidate any reason to believe that they were rejected for a role because they have children.

Illegal Questions:

Would this job conflict with you picking up your kids from…?

Do you have children that would fall under your insurance?

• Do you plan on having kids?

Legal Questions:

• The only time you may ask questions about children is after a written offer has been presented and accepted and only for insurance purposes.

AGE

It is always illegal to ask a candidate’s specific age. The only time it is legal to inquire about a candidate’s age is if the opportunity, by law, requires the candidate to be over a certain age in order to perform the job functions involved. For example, to serve alcohol in the state of Florida you must be over the age of 18.

Illegal Questions:

• How old are you?
• What year were you born?
• What year did you graduate high school/college?

Legal Questions:

• Are you over the age of 18?
• If hired can you provide proof that you are over the age of 18?

RELIGION

Questions regarding a candidate’s religious preferences are strictly prohibited unless the opportunity is with a legally recognized, religious organization. Always ask your manager for clarification If you feel that it is necessary to ask about religion.

Illegal Questions:

• Did you grow up religious?
• Is religion important to you?
• Are you religious?
• Do you need off for any religious holidays?

Legal Questions:

• None

DISABILITIES

All questions related to an individual’s disabilities are Illegal. It is up to the candidate if they choose to disclose any physical or mental ailment.

Illegal Questions:

• Do you have any disabilities?

Legal Questions:

• Can you perform the duties of the job you are applying for?

NATIONALITY & CITIZENSHIP

This is an interesting topic because it is illegal to employ someone who is not authorized to work in the United States, but it is also illegal to directly ask someone about their citizenship. This is because it is easy for someone to feel discriminated against because of where they are from and as a result, it is illegal to directly address a person’s citizenship or national origin. Even though you may think you are just being friendly, avoid this direct line of questioning.

Illegal Questions:

• Where are you from?
• Where are your parent from?
• What’s your nationality?
• Are you a U.S. citizen?
• What is your native language?

Legal Question:

• Are you eligible to work for any employer in the U.S.?
• Do you now, or will you in the future, require sponsorship for employment?

RELIABILITY & ATTENDANCE

The issue with this line of questioning is not the topic of the candidate’s reliability or attendance it is the questions themselves.

Illegal Questions:

• Do you own a car?

Legal Questions:

• What hours and days can you work?
• Are there any specific times that you cannot work?
• Do you have obligations outside of work that would keep you from agreeing to the requirements of this job such as work hours or travel?

MILITARY EXPERIENCE

Questions regarding a candidate’s military background should be asked the same way as any other job. The only time you would ask questions about a candidate’s military experience regarding discharge, providing military documents, or security clearance status would be if it directly related to the job at hand.

Illegal Questions:

• What was your discharge status?
• Were your honorable discharged?
• Could I see a copy of your DD-214?
• When is the next time you are deploying?
• All questions related to service related injuries.
• All PTSD related questions.

Legal Questions:

• When where you in the military?
• What were your job functions? 
• What was your rank?
• Can you perform all requirements of this job?

ORGANIZATIONS

Questions regarding organizations or clubs that a candidate belongs to should only be asked if they directly apply to the opportunity at hand.

Illegal Questions:

• Would you list all clubs and organizations you belong to?
• Are you a union member?

Legal Questions:  

• Do you belong to and organizations or memberships that would appeal to the hiring manager for this position?