Are you asking for too much? These Illegal Pre-employment Questions could Get You a Lawsuit! * Incedo Group

Are you asking for too much? These Illegal Pre-employment Questions could Get You a Lawsuit!

The applicant interview is the most critical part of the hiring process. After looking over an impressive resume, the next step is to look deeper into the applicant’s personal and professional background through an interview or sometimes, a series of interviews.

Learning how to recruit employees doesn’t stop when you know how to ask applicants a dozen questions. The questions you ask can make or break the entire hiring process—it can either land you that perfect employee or… get you into a lawsuit!

Yes, asking the wrong questions during an interview can get you in big trouble.

Often times, employers don’t realize that there are questions offensive to people. Sure, the question you’re asking may seem logical, necessary or innocent enough for you, but you’re not the one being questioned!

In general, any question that tends to discriminate a group of people for whatever reason is an unlawful question. Employment opportunities must be given equally to minority groups and women; and the interview process should not be used to deny anyone their equal right to apply for a position for the reason of their race or religious group.

Below are a few examples of unlawful interview questions. You can’t claim that you know how to recruit employees, until you know better not to ask these questions.

1. Are you married? How many children do you have?

This question and others similar to it are often used by employers to see whether an applicant’s availability to work is limited by having children or plans to have children. It is unlawful to deny anyone employment because of personal family responsibilities.

2. What country are your mother and father from?

Asking about an individual’s national origin may be indicators of racial discrimination. This information is not essential, and it should not be used to determine an applicant’s ability to work.

3. How tall are you? How much do you weigh?

Discriminating and ruling out a specific group of people on the grounds of their weight or height is unlawful, unless you’re recruiting talent for a commercial or something where this may be a factor. The employer must be able to prove that a specific weight and height is necessary for the safe practice of the job in question, otherwise they have no business in asking such questions.

4. Do you own your house?

Inquiries to an applicant’s financial history and assets must be avoided, unless financial considerations are important to the position. Recruiters for financial companies might be trained how to recruit employees and ask this question tactfully, but in most industries these type of questions are not allowed.

The deciding factor, whether an employer may ask a specific question, is if it’s necessary to help them assess the applicant’s ability to do a certain job.

Make sure the purpose of the information being asked is appropriate in the pre-employment stage. If not, then these unlawful inquiries may be reported and are punishable by law. Employers must be very careful in choosing the appropriate questions to ensure they don’t get a lawsuit or complaint for not knowing how to recruit employees properly.