What you need to know about what they can ask
Job interviewers are not allowed to ask certain questions. But what do you say if they do?
By Marilyn Gardner | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the July 23, 2007 edition
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Over the course of a long career in public relations, Bonnie Russell has been interviewed for numerous jobs. But not all companies have made the process easy – or legally correct.
As a college student, Ms. Russell applied to a public relations firm where Barry Goldwater was a client. "Are you a Republican or Democrat?" the interviewer asked her. "I was so brand-new I answered the question," she says. "And no, I didn't get the job."
Later, when Russell lived in Utah, religion came up in indirect ways in interviews. She learned to answer vaguely.
Then, as years passed, what she calls "the age question" became a factor. She says, "I answered first with a laugh before sweetly adding, 'You should know I'm old enough to know that questions alluding to age shouldn't be asked.' "
It has been more than 40 years since federal equal employment opportunity laws first prohibited employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, or national origin. Most states also have antidiscrimination laws. Although legal experts see general compliance with the law, some job seekers still find themselves fielding improper questions.
"It happens all the time," says John Petrella, an employment lawyer representing management in Livingston, N.J. "It's a very easy area for employers to get in trouble. It's really easy to run afoul of the antidiscrimination laws. You have to be vigilant and diligent about training."
Legal experts find that Fortune 500 companies avoid problems by maintaining savvy human resources departments. Interviewers know the limits of the law. Problems are more likely to arise in small and mid-size firms, where, Mr. Petrella notes, "the office manager might be the recruiter."
Small, start-up companies can be especially susceptible to mistakes during interviews. "Everything is happening fast, they're multitasking, and they don't pause necessarily as much as they could to ask themselves if a question might be judicious," says Steve Harrison, a corporate ethicist and author of "The Manager's Book of Decencies."
Even when employers know what they are and aren't allowed to ask, they may not know what to say when an applicant volunteers certain information.
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