Illegal Questions

It is important to keep in mind that most employers only ask questions that they believe will help them choose the best person for the position regardless of race/color, sex/gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, age, national origin/citizenship. With that in mind, much of the time if an employer asks an illegal question they are not asking it for the reason it is illegal.

For instance if some asks: "Does your (boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife) have a problem with you working long hours since we work 45-50 hours a week?"

There concern is can you work 45-50 hours a week. So they should have asked: "Is there any reason you would not be able to work 45-50 hours a week?"

If you are asked an illegal question you have several options:

  1. You can answer the question: "My (boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife) is very supportive of my career and has no problem with me working long hours." This might lead to more illegal questions or might still be considered a "wrong" answer.
  2. You can refuse to answer the question: "I do not have to answer that since it is illegal." Although it is well within your rights to do so this might seem confrontational or uncooperative.
  3. You could analyze the question for the true intent and respond to the intent rather than the actual question: "My career is my top priority and working 45-50 hours a week is not a problem at all."

Most questions that ask about military discharge, arrest record, disabilities, marital/family status, age, national origin/citizenship, race/ethnic background or any other non-job related attribute are illegal. But keep in mind that some are job related. For example: Many Department of Defense jobs require U.S. Citizenship.