Avoid Asking These Interview Questions During Your Hiring Process

During an interview, you’ll want to ask several questions to get a sense of a candidate’s qualifications, experience and skill set. When doing so, it’s important to avoid certain illegal questions that are out of bounds and considered discriminatory in nature.

There is even a federal law in place “that prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin and religion.” It’s called Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. With that being said, here are some interview questions to avoid.

Questions Regarding Race or Religion

Anything involving race or religion is strictly off limits and could potentially get you in some hot water from a legal standpoint (e.g., discrimination lawsuits). On top of this, a person’s race and religion should by no means impact their ability to perform a job.

One specific area where interviewers can get in trouble regarding religion is asking about which religious holidays a candidate observes so they’ll know about scheduling limitations. Simply ask a candidate if they’ll be able to work the schedule required for the position.

Age 

The topic of age discrimination has also received a considerable amount of press as of late. There have been plenty of age discrimination lawsuits. In fact, a 66-year-old man won a $26 million age discrimination lawsuit against Staples in 2014. The bottom line is that you should never bring up the topic of a person’s age or their date of birth.

Disability 

You should also tread lightly when it comes to questions involving disability or illness in general. If you question whether or not a particular condition could influence a person’s ability to perform a job, it would be considered discrimination.

Marital Status and Children

While questions involving these topics may sound fairly innocuous, they too can be considered as discriminatory and should be avoided. They are generally viewed as being inappropriate even if you’re just making conversation.

Let’s be honest. We’re living in a litigation-happy society, and more and more employers are getting hit with discrimination lawsuits which is why you should take the interviewing process seriously and be sure to steer clear of the discriminatory questions.

Do you need assistance with recruiting? Contact the professionals at Encadria Staffing Solutions today.

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