EMPLOyER'S PRACTICAL LEGAL GUIDE Plain Language About ...

1.12 Employer’s Practical Legal GuideBefore the interview, carefully review the list of questions youhave prepared. Make sure your questions request only job-relatedinformation that will help you in the selection process. Federaland state equal employment opportunity laws prohibit discriminationon the basis of race, color, national origin or citizen ship,religion, sex, age and disability. Some state laws also prohibitdiscrimination based on other factors, including marital status,familial status, sexual orientation and AIDS. You’re in violation ofthose laws if, during the course of an interview, you raise a questionspecifically relating to one of these characteristics.Even if a job applicant reveals personal information, that’s notan excuse to probe further. If a job applicant voluntarily revealsa disability, the interviewer may ask only whether the applicantneeds a reasonable accommodation for his or her disability and, ifso, what it might be. Remember, you may not discriminate againstan applicant simply because he or she requires accommodation.(For more information, see Section 12.)You’re really just asking for trouble if you ask probing questionsthat are clearly gathering information that has nothing to dowith the applicant’s ability to perform the job. When examined inthe harsh light of litigation, these lines of questioning will seemlike the employer was probing for a reason not to hire the applicant.If you’re not sure about a particular question, pause and askyourself: “Would I make the same inquiry with any other jobapplicant?”For example, before you ask a female applicant, “Which ismore important to you, a family or a career?” consider whetheryou would likely ask a man the same question. Remember, however,that just because you would ask a question of all applicantsdoes not make it lawful.➤ Observation: During the course of an interview, most illegalquestions usually stem from ignorance, not from maliciousness.But the courts will determine that inquiries singling outa group may be discriminatory, even if no discrimination wasintended. Educate all staff members involved in the hiring process;let them know what’s legal and illegal to ask.Caution: Federal recordkeeping requirements mandate thatyou keep any interview notes as well as application forms and otherrecords concerning hiring for at least one year. But the Supreme