Common Job Interview Questions That Are Illegal

Summary: There are some very common job interview questions that are actually illegal in today’s business world. We will discuss them in this post.

Interviewers have one task they must complete during a job interview; to find out as much about each candidate as possible using legal and ethical methods. Not all interviewers will succeed at this task, which is why they might ask some illegal questions. We will discuss the most common interview questions that turn out to be illegal in this post. If any illegal or inappropriate questions arise during a job interview, politely decline to answer them instead of lying when answering the question.

Are you married? 

The interviewer will tend to ask this question in an effort to find out if you have enough time to commit to the job, but it is actually illegal. When you answer this question it reveals your marital status and even your sexual orientation.

From which country do you hail?

Even if you have an accent, the interviewer cannot ask this question. He or she might be asking it innocently because they are just curious, but it reveals your national origin. Employers are not legally allowed to ask about your nationality, but they can ask you if you are authorized to work in the United States.

Are you in debt?

This question falls into the same category as asking about your criminal background history. Employers cannot ask about your credit history during a job interview. You should also know that your credit history cannot disqualify you from employment unless it directly affects your ability to perform the tasks required by the position. Employers are also not permitted to ask about whether or not you own property or how well you balance your finances.

Do you observe any religious holidays?

The only question employers can ask you about availability in this category is if you can work on Sundays. They cannot ask you which holidays you celebrate based on religious beliefs because it reveals your religion, which is illegal.

Have you recently used drugs?

It is illegal for an employer to ask a candidate about their past drug use. But, it is legal for the employer to ask if you are using any illegal drugs currently. Present use of illegal drugs is not protected by the ADA.

Are there any children in your life?

There will be variations of this question, but all of them are illegal. Employers are not permitted to ask if you have any children. It is against the law to deny employment because a person plans to have children or has children already. Many employers ask this question in order to find out how committed you will be to the job.

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