In With The New – Resolving To Conduct A Non-Discriminatory Job Interview

12.27.2016

Given the often frenzied pace of December due to year-end obligations many businesses face, in addition to the typical mad rush of the holiday season, many employers delay personnel decisions and look to hire new employees at the start of the new year.  But whenever those decisions are made, it is always important to keep federal and state employment laws in mind when vetting a prospective new hire or risk running afoul of anti-discrimination laws. 

Under New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”) and federal law, employers are prohibited from discriminating in the hiring process.  Specifically, the LAD makes it unlawful to refuse to hire an individual because of his or her membership in a protected category.  Examples of such protected categories include: race, national origin, disability, age, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation and gender identity.  An employer may not consider a prospective employee’s membership in any of the protected categories when making a hiring decision—including at the interview stage—and even appearing to do so may subject an employer to liability.

It may be obvious that an employer should not directly ask a potential employee if he or she is a member of a protected group because the potential employee may, even if mistaken, believe that the employer based its hiring decision on the fact that the employee is in a protected group.   However, there are other interview questions which may get an employer into trouble because they indirectly ask for the same information.  An employer should stay away from the following questions to make sure there is no basis for an employee to question whether the hiring process was from discrimination. For some examples, see the questions below:

National Origin or Ethnicity:

What kind of last name is that?

Is your hair naturally curly?

Where are you from?

Gender:

Do you think you can be sensitive enough, as a man, to do this job effectively? 

Can you be tough enough, as a woman to be effective at this job? 

Are you sure you can work with all these men? (or women, depending on the composition of the work force)

Familial Status:

Do you have children? 

Are you going to have any problems with daycare? 

Do you plan on having children soon? 

Do your children live at home with you? 

Who lives with you?

Pregnancy:

Do you plan on having children soon? 

When are you due?

Age:

What is your date of birth? 

What year did you graduate from college? 

How old are your children?

Religion:

Is there any day of the week you can’t work because you have to go to worship service? 

Do you always have to wear that ____? (fill in religious garb)

Disability:

How many sick days did you take last year? 

Have you ever filed a workers’ compensation claim? 

Are you taking any medications? 

Do you have problems with your back?

Miscellaneous:

What do you do in your free time? 

What are some of your hobbies? 

Do you belong to any clubs?

All of the above questions have the potential to elicit answers which relate to a prospective employee’s membership in one of the protected categories.  It is a good idea to avoid them when interviewing to prevent possible claims of hiring discrimination.

Tags: Work InterviewEmployment Protected ClassNew Jersey Law Against Discrimination

BLOG DISCLAIMER

The postings on this blog were created for general informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice or a solicitation to provide legal services.  Although we attempt to ensure that the postings are complete, accurate, and current as of the time of publication, we assume no responsibility for their completeness, accuracy, or timeliness.  The information in this blog is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship.  Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional legal counsel.

This blog may contain links to independent third party websites and services, including social media. We provide these links for your convenience, and you access them at your own risk.  We have no control over and do not monitor the content or policies (including privacy policies) of these third-party websites and have no responsibility for, and no liability with respect to, their content, accuracy, or reliability.  Unless expressly stated, we do not endorse any of the linked websites or any product, service, or publication referenced herein or therein.  We will remove a link to any site from this blog upon request of the linked entity.

We grant permission to readers to link to this blog so long as this blog is not misrepresented. This site is not sponsored or associated with any other site unless so identified.

If you wish for Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A., to consider representing you, please obtain contact information from the Contact Us area of this blog or go to the firm’s website at www.wilentz.com.  One of our lawyers will be happy to discuss the possibility of representation with you. However, the authors of Wilentz blogs are licensed only in New Jersey and/or New York and do not wish to represent anyone who viewed this site in a state where the site fails to comply with all laws and ethical rules of that state.

Sign Up