8 Things Employers Aren't Allowed to Ask You

Investopedia via Yahoo Finance ^ | Sept. 10, 2010 | Porcshe Moran

[jwparkerjr]

The rough economy has made many people desperate for a job. In their eagerness for gainful employment, many people may overlook improper interview questions. Depending on how they are asked, questions about personal topics such as marital status, race and health are more than just poor manners - they are illegal under federal and some state and local laws

[jwparkerjr]

Anyone who has a problem understanding why employment is in such bad shape in today's world should just read this article. What a crock? You're forced to spend your time and effort interviewing someone who isn't qualified for the job in the first place.

It's actually worse than the headline leads you to believe. These are questions POTENTIAL employers can't ask you. The headline says 'employers'. Bad headline writing. But what else is new. Probably happened because it's against the law to ask a potential page designer if they know how to write a headline that accurately leads into the article.

[screaminsunshine]

Anyone with that attitude will not get hired. This guy must be another Socialist. He should talk to Castro about how his model works.

[ThePatrioticArtist]

..and if you’re illegal, they can’t (or should I say won’t) ask you for an id, social security card, proof of residency or any of that other good stuff us legals have to submit!

[Red Badger]

But they are mandated by federal law to ask for your birth certificate....................ironic, isn’t it?..........

[theDentist]

9. “Did you vote for someone other than His Excellency Obama, and if so How do you live with yourself?”

[AppyPappy]

How are we going to increase diversity if we aren’t allowed to ask someone about their race?

[screaminsunshine]

Sure and a background check. Ironic.

[Non-Sequitur]

You're forced to spend your time and effort interviewing someone who isn't qualified for the job in the first place.

How does age, marital status, race, or religion impact someone's qualifications for the job?

[proxy_user]

When filling jobs, most employers just ask their best employees if they know anyone suitable.

Large companies have official programs that pay thousands of dollars for referrals.

These programs exist, because a strong recommendation from a guy who know is good is worth a thousand BS interviews.

[twigs]

After the person is hired.

[musicman]

[Tax-chick]

Would it be taboo to ask someone such as the author, “Porcshe Moran,” how to pronounce his or her name? Is it “Pork-she”? And would the last name be “Mor-AN,” or the more intuitively appropriate “MOR’on”?

[BraveMan]

That’s how I got back in the workforce, albeit at a significantly lower rate. Nobody wants an older (50+) person anymore . . .

[IMissPresidentReagan]

3. Are you a U.S. citizen?

Citizenship and immigration status cannot be used against a potential employee during the hiring process according to The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). Employers must wait until after a job offer had been extended to require a worker to complete the Employment Eligibility Verification (I-9) Form and submit documentation that proves identity and employment authorization. It is lawful for an employer to ask an interviewee if they are authorized to work in the US.

Does anyone else think this is incredibly ridiculous? An employer can't ask until AFTER extending a job offer if you are a citizen, and then the employer MUST get the information via an I-9 form and rely on the government to check the information? Seems like a lot of paperwork and expense could be saved by being able to properly vet BEFORE offering a job, but what do I know?

[dangerdoc]

I quit being an employer about 3 years ago. In retrospect, it may have been a good choice.

[shelterguy]

“””How are we going to increase diversity if we aren’t allowed to ask someone about their race?”””””

I am doing a government construction project now as a subcontractor.

The government is DEMANDING that I have a certain percentage of woman hours and that I hire a certain percentage of minorities.

How will I know they are a minority if I can’t ask their race?

[laweeks]

Can’t ask about what race they are; but after they’re hired, you can stand across the room and decide what race they are for government statistics, same thing they do in the public screw-ools. What’s wrong here!

[jwparkerjr]

Those you specify might not, but the list isn’t limited to those. It asks about pregnancy.

And, in the case of a church operated preschool, or a woman’s health clinic, etc., the person’s religion could be important.

I agree, most are not relevant, but I am more concerned with the total takeover of business these days by having government involved in every aspect of the employer/employee relationship.

[laweeks]

“But they are mandated by federal law to ask for your birth certificate”

But not if they run for president of the United States . . . Nobama doesn’t have to have one . . . makes sense, don’t it?

[ByteMercenary]

Back in the day I was middle management for a multinational company for several years. I remember discussing new hire interviews over drinks on several occasions. Bottom line was yes there were a number of questions that could not be verbalized in the interview, but many of those should be in a properly formatted resume’. The unspoken bottom line was that if any of those items (and other personal things) were not written down or volunteered in the interview, the applicant had no shot at being hired. Cruel? No. Unjust? Maybe in a small way. Necessary? Absolutely. My job was to employ qualified folk who will assimilate the corporate culture and become motivated and loyal employees, not drones with issues. Applicants with secrets and poor attitude rarely evolve into good employees.