September 22, 2015
a. Interviewers should be trained
Interviewing applicants is one of the most important functions of an employer, as not only does an employer not want to violate EEO laws, it also wants to ensure that it is making a good hiring decision. It is therefore essential that interviewers be trained before they are allowed to engage in the process. Some important aspects of interviewing are:
- The interviewer should study all requirements of the job ahead of time;
- The interviewer should review the employment application and/or resume to determine whether additional information is needed prior to
the interview;
- The interviewer should start the interview with rapport building, rather than highly personal questions. Let the applicant talk; don’t interrupt or talk down to the applicant;
-The interviewer should check questions off as they are asked. However, the interviewer should not make any notes on the employment application or resume; and
- The interviewer should evaluate applicants as soon as possible after the interview.
b. Examples of unacceptable interview questions:
- Questions about marital status, number of children, and childcare arrangements.
o Acceptable: May ask what hours an individual is available to work or specific times he/she cannot work.
- Where applicant or his/her parents were born or whether the individual is a US citizen.
o Acceptable: May ask if individual is eligible to work in the US.
- What is the applicant’s native language? May not ask how an applicant acquired the ability to read or speak a foreign language.
o Acceptable: May ask about languages the applicant speaks or writes fluently if they are part of the job.
- Questions about arrests.
o Acceptable: Questions about convictions may be acceptable in certain circumstances—See Section 7 below.
- Type of discharge received from the military.
o Acceptable: Ask whether individual served in the military, dates of service, rank, and training and work experience received in the military.
- Questions about church or religious affiliations.
- Questions eliciting the individual’s age, including indirect questions, such as date of high school graduation.
c. What you can ask applicants
Interviewers should make certain that the questions they ask are job-related and nondiscriminatory. An interviewer may not ask questions about a disability, but may obtain more specific information about the ability to perform job tasks and about any needed accommodation. Examples of subject areas that are typically job-related are:
- Education and training;
- Past work experience;
- Military work experience; and
- Relevant personal characteristics.
d. Interview Pitfalls
While potential pitfalls are many, two of the most important things for an interviewer to remember are:
- Avoid asking questions that are either not job-related or discriminatory—i.e., those listed above or others that may elicit information about legally protected characteristics; and
- Avoid “overselling” the job by making oral representations that could serve as the basis for implied contract or promissory estoppel claims—i.e., stating “this is a secure position,” “looking for a long-term commitment,” “grow with the company.”