There are many dynamic interview questions that a hiring manager may ask you during a job interview.
However, there are also interview questions that are illegal to ask. While any interviewer should know what not to ask, you might be surprised.
The job interview is challenging both for the hiring manager and the interviewee. In this short period of time, an interviewer needs to glean pertinent information about a candidate's behaviors, skills, and experience. The applicant, too, needs to answer these questions appropriately—to give the best impression of who she is as a prospective employee.
While employees are protected under a variety of acts, including The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it can still feel difficult to speak up when an uncomfortable or illegal question is posed.
In this article, we will explore both the questions that are illegal—and how to navigate an answer if an illegal question comes your way during your next interview.
Illegal Job Interview Questions
Here are illegal interview questions—and how to avoid them, redirect them, or identify the red flags associated with the interviewer asking them in the first place!
For more detailed information about prohibited and illegal practices from employers, check out the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) website.
Pro Tip: If an interviewer asks a question or a line of questions that feels either uncomfortable or illegal, answer by asking, "Can you explain why this is relevant to the position? If it isn't, I'd like to move on to the next question."
1. What Did You Earn at Your Last Job?
This question has made headlines over the past few years. In a groundbreaking piece of bipartisan legislation, the state of Massachusetts made it illegal for employers to ask job seekers to report their past salaries. Since this law passed in 2018, this question has been increasingly under scrutiny.
Why is this question illegal? States and cities across the U.S are banning this question in an offer to foster forward-moving pay equity between men and women.
If you are asked this question, it is actually fairly easy to deflect. Rather than laying our your past salary (which should be irrelevant, anyway) have a plan for what you deserve to earn. Have a salary range prepared ahead of the interview. This way, you can ask the question your interviewer is actually asking (or intending to ask.)
Salary transparency is so important. Use tools like Payscale or The Salary Project™ to learn what you should be making—in the position and in the geographical location.
2. What is Your Ethnicity?
As with many illegal interview questions, this one is easy to identify. Ask yourself, why is this relevant to this role? If your answer is that it isn't relevant to the role, then you can be pretty sure that the question is either inappropriate or illegal.
Questions about ethnicity or race are illegal. In addition to this, you can keep your eyes (and ears) out for related illegal questions about ethnicity, origin, or citizenship status
Other Examples:
- Where are your parents from?
- Where did you live while you were growing up?
- Where is your accent from?
- Are you a US citizen?
- What are you? (Unreal that people ask this question, but they do!)
If you are asked this question, you can do what makes you feel comfortable. If you feel uncomfortable answering it, simply say, "My [race/ethnicity] has no bearing on my job performance, so I'd rather not answer this question."
3. Are You Pregnant?
Nope. This one is illegal, sexist, and downright rude.
First of all, nobody should ever ask a woman if she is pregnant. Questions like this should raise red flags for a job seeker. If a hiring manager has the audacity to ask this question, there is likely a toxic work culture element. Pay attention. Other questions around the subject of pregnancy and family are also illegal.
Here are a few examples of super inappropriate questions:
- Do you have children?
- How many children do you have?
- Do you plan on having more children?
- What kind of childcare arrangements do you have in place?
- How old are your children?
- Are you planning on becoming pregnant soon?
- Do you plan on having a family?
- We have strict attendance requirements here. Are there any reasons you might miss work?
4. How Old Are You?
Questions around age are almost always illegal unless the job has a minimum age required for employment, as in the case of a bartender. All US bartenders must meet an age requirement of 21 years to serve alcohol legally in the US.
The reality is that age questions are sneaky when an employer is navigating their own biases. They might not want an employee they consider "too junior" for the role. On the other hand, a "cool, young startup" might have preconceived notions about hiring someone of more advanced age.
These biases, whether or not unconscious, lead to questions that are rooted in age discrimination.
Other sneaky questions around age can look like this:
- When did you graduate high school?
- In what year were you born?
- How old are your kids?
- Do you have grandchildren?
5. Are You Married?
This question is illegal. In addition to being illegal, there really is no reason this question is ever relevant to any job description (though if you can think of a reason, please let us know.) Aside from being deeply inappropriate, this question is borderline harassment, especially for a prospective female employee.
This is also a place where an employer might try to figure out your sexual orientation, which is, again, irrelevant to the position. It is your decision whether or not to share any/all information.
Other illegal questions like this one include:
- Do you live with anyone?
- Are you planning on getting married soon?
- Do you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend?
- I hope you don't mind me asking, what is your sexual orientation?
- I noticed the ring on your finger; are you engaged?
- Do you have a spouse? What does your spouse do for a living?
It's also worth noting that interviewers can find tricky ways to ask this question—like posing questions about what you did over the weekend, what your mornings look like, or questions about who you live with. Feel free to be vague—and answer these types of questions with answers that pertain to the job.
For example: "This morning, I listened to a podcast about the marketing industry and I actually think you would find it very interesting."
6. Have You Ever Been Arrested?
This one is tricky. While an employer can ask if you have ever been convicted of a crime, they cannot ask if you have been arrested. There are protective state laws around this line of questioning. If you are going into an interview with a criminal conviction on your record, be sure to research the state laws around these questions beforehand.
Other questions like this include:
- If we ran a background check, would we find an arrest record?
- Do you have any conviction records we should know about?
Know your rights.
Pro Tip: Be wary of intimidation tactics with this line of employee discrimination questioning. They might add something like, "You know we're going to find it, so you may as well tell us right now."
7. Do You Have a Disability?
If a job has physical requirements like being able to lift 50 pounds or more, an employer can ask about that. However, it is illegal to ask about your medical history, any medications you might use, or any other questions about your health or mental well-being.
If inappropriate questions are posed around your health, take the opportunity to ensure your interviewer that you are readily equipped to complete the job as described. That is all they need to know around the subject of your health in a professional setting. Other illegal questions include:
- Do you take any prescriptions?
- How often do you go to a doctor?
- Do you have any pre-existing health conditions?
8. What Is Your Religion?
Any question centered around your religion is illegal. Look out for questions around what you practice, your beliefs, any religious garments or jewelry you might wear.
- That's a beautiful cross, what denomination of Christianity do you belong to?
- I love that medal you're wearing. Do you attend a church nearby? Who is your pastor?
- That's an interesting outfit. Do you have a religious affiliation that requires that kind of dress?
An exception to this rule can be scheduling. If the job requires you to work on days that you observe your religion, it could be relevant. Rather than answering religion-based questions outright, you might ask, "What schedule would I be expected to work in this position?" From there, you may offer your availability—and mention any holy days or religious days you might observe.
9. Have You Ever Experienced Bankruptcy?
Why does this have anything to do with a job? Unless you're doling out high-stakes financial advice, we're not sure. However, it is illegal. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970 and the Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 1996, employers cannot ask questions about credit scores, bank accounts, or prior bankruptcy status.
However, once you're onboarded, an employer might ask for bank account information for direct deposit purposes.
10. Were You Discharged from the Military?
While employers can ask about your time at a certain job or organization, they cannot ask about military service. Because military status is a federally protected class, employers cannot make decisions based on an employee's past, current, or future military membership or service.
- Will you be deployed again any time soon?
- Why did you leave the military? What type of discharge did you receive?
11. Have You Ever Suffered a Workplace Injury?
This question is similar to the line of questioning about disabilities. However, this illegal job interview question is more likely to be screened for costly liability.
- Have you ever filed a worker's compensation claim?
- I see you're wearing a knee brace. Do you have knee problems?
As far as physical requirements, employers are only legally allowed to ask whether you can do the job as described. Any questions about ability or past injuries are, you guessed it, illegal.
In Conclusion
No hiring manager should ask you any of these questions. If they do, you can take action. Is there an interview question that really rubbed you the wrong way? How did you answer? We'd love to hear. Please email us at editorial@careercontessa.com.
