# Ever report an employer for illegal interview questions? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 19, 2007, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573 "2007-12-19T15:03:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573/21 "2007-12-19T20:47:42Z")
There are _some_ questions that are illegal. Such as, “Are you a U.S. citizen?” The legally allowed question is “Do you have right to work legally in the U.S.”? It doesn’t matter if they’re a citizen or not. But lots of questions that people think are illegal are not. There are very few that are actually illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573/22 "2007-12-19T20:58:12Z")
[QUOTE=missbunny] There are _some_ questions that are illegal. Such as, “Are you a U.S. citizen?” The legally allowed question is “Do you have right to work legally in the U.S.”? It doesn’t matter if they’re a citizen or not. [/QUOTE] This is an illegal question? Right now a dozen or so states are holding individual employers legally liable to prove the citizenship of their employees. (Arizona, I believe, is the latest state to pass legislation on this.) ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573/23 "2007-12-19T20:59:07Z")
According to a document posted on the Pacific University website ([PDF here](http://www.pacificu.edu/offices/hr/training/interview/pdfs/LegalOrIllegalInterviewQuestions.pdf)): > [@](#): > > Court rulings and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) guidelines prohibit the use of all pre-employment inquiries that disproportionately screen out members of minority groups or members of one sex and are not valid predictors of successful job performance or which cannot be justified by “business necessity.” See Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424 (1971). Some of the questions they specifically list as illegal are: 1. How many children do you have? 2. Do you own your own home? 3. How old are you? 4. When did you graduate from high school? They listed a total of 20. I’m not trying to snark, but I’d really be interested to see some cite that the questions commonly thought to be illegal are not illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573/24 "2007-12-19T21:05:36Z")
Banyard posted the exact same thing I did. ---
**Author:** ![Emmy2635](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/919ad9/32.png) [@Emmy2635](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emmy2635)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573/25 "2007-12-19T21:09:52Z")
[QUOTE=Bayard] They listed a total of 20. I’m not trying to snark, but I’d really be interested to see some cite that the questions commonly thought to be illegal are not illegal. [/QUOTE] Well, obviously I’m not going to be able to find a law that states there are no illegal questions. But from that PDF you cited, there is even a section that says “Under Title VII pre-employment inquiries concerning national origin are not considered violations of the law in and of themselves” Those questions that you state are illegal, are actually cited in that document as being “improper” or “inappropriate”. ---
**Author:** ![Emmy2635](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/919ad9/32.png) [@Emmy2635](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emmy2635)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573/26 "2007-12-19T21:24:49Z")
[QUOTE=Sean Factotum] This is an illegal question? Right now a dozen or so states are holding individual employers legally liable to prove the citizenship of their employees. (Arizona, I believe, is the latest state to pass legislation on this.) [/QUOTE] No, this is not an illegal question. Some positions (security sensitive) actually require U.S. citizenship. However, **Sean Factotum** , employers are legally liable to prove only that their employees are eligible to work in the U.S. – not that they are U.S. citizens. Proof is usually obtained AFTER employment though – not during pre-employment questioning. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573/27 "2007-12-19T21:35:53Z")
> [@](#): > > What questions are off-limits during a job interview? > > ``` > A number of laws come into play during job interviews, including the ADA, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Ohio Civil Rights Act. The most important limitations to remember are: > > * Do not ask questions that seek information, directly or indirectly, about characteristics that are protected by law. The list of protected characteristics includes race, color, religion, gender, age, disability and national origin. Asking questions about a protected characteristic and not hiring the applicant increases the risk of liability for employment discrimination. This area gets tricky when the interview touches upon personal areas, such as education, military service, arrest record, which may be construed as an indirect way of getting prohibited information. Ask questions that establish whether the applicant can or cannot perform the job. A helpful resource is the Ohio Civil Rights Commission's "Guide for Application Forms and Interviews". You may obtain a copy of that information by calling the office of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission nearest you. > > * Do ask similar questions to all applicants for the same position. When interviewing applicants for the same position, ask each candidate similar, if not identical, questions. As an example, under state law a member of a "protected class" may be discriminated against if the prospective employer asks certain questions to one class of applicants and does not ask the same questions to a non-protected class of applicants. > > ``` [http://www.sacsconsulting.com/ht0007.htm](http://www.sacsconsulting.com/ht0007.htm) _And see_, [http://www.dot.state.oh.us/dist3/highway/construc/eeo/question.htm](http://www.dot.state.oh.us/dist3/highway/construc/eeo/question.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573/28 "2007-12-19T21:41:12Z")
Previous thread: [Illegal questions in job interviews](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=253246&page=2&pp=40) ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573/29 "2007-12-19T22:14:39Z")
[QUOTE=Bayard] Some of the questions they specifically list as illegal are: 1. How many children do you have? 2. Do you own your own home? 3. How old are you? 4. When did you graduate from high school? [/quote] The link given in your previous post says that asking when someone graduated from high school _is_ legal. I didn’t read the PDF yet. Age discrimination is only valid at age 40 and older so it doesn’t matter if someone who is clearly well under 40 is asked anyway. It doesn’t matter if you don’t hire them because you don’t like 30-year-olds: they can’t sue for age discrimination. They have no standing. > [@](#): > > I’m not trying to snark, but I’d really be interested to see some cite that the questions commonly thought to be illegal are not illegal. 1. This job is in the middle of nowhere. Do you have access to reliable transportation to and from work? 2. This job requires overtime. Do you have any reason you cannot work overtime on short notice? 3. What professional organizations do you belong to? 4. Do you have any special accommodations that will need to be made in order for you to do the job? 5. Can you lift 50 pounds by yourself? 6. Do you like seafood? We have a buffet every Friday. What about cake? We all like cake here. 7. How about them Sox? That last pitch was amazing! These all “sound” like they’re personal information that the employer doesn’t have a reason to ask and yet they are all legal. Lots of people think that ANY question relating to anything except exactly and specifically that particular job are illegal. They’re not. In many cases it’s up to the applicant to figure out how to answer the question without providing any “negative” information, which often people are too nervous or flustered to do, so they give answers that tell the employer more than they really need to know. But they didn’t ask an illegal question to get the info. Obviously a few of those above are ridiculous. But legal. People have this idea that employers can’t ask certain things, and it’s really that employers _don’t_ in order to avoid the hassle of a lawsuit. It’s the discrimination based on the answer that is illegal, not the question itself. And there are lots of nutty things someone can discriminate on and there’s nothing illegal about it: if I don’t like people who drive Fords, I don’t have to hire one, even if she’s the best-qualified. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573/30 "2007-12-19T22:17:02Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto] Nah. The state will want just a tip-off so that they can start an investigation of their own, and they can get all the evidence they need once that happens. [/QUOTE] Is this a joke? The state will most likely do nothing at all until receiving repeated complaints, from one person or a whole bunch of people. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573/31 "2007-12-19T22:21:44Z")
[QUOTE=Sean Factotum] This is an illegal question? Right now a dozen or so states are holding individual employers legally liable to prove the citizenship of their employees. (Arizona, I believe, is the latest state to pass legislation on this.) [/QUOTE] I think that law is a requirement that employers verify I-9 information, isn’t it? Not that they prove someone’s citizenship. Edit: also, it’s after they are hired, not before. Unless the law has been changed very recently, it’s illegal to ask BEFORE hiring if someone is a U.S. citizen. What is legal is either “Do you have the right to work in the U.S.?” and “If hired, would you be able to meet the security clearance requirements of this job?” and jobs that _have_ a security-clearance requirement that one be a citizen must state this in the advertisement and during the application process. If there is no security-clearance requirement, then it is not required that anyone be a U.S. citizen: merely that they have the legal right to work in the U.S. and have the necessary papers to prove it. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573/32 "2007-12-19T23:12:00Z")
[QUOTE=missbunny] 1. This job is in the middle of nowhere. Do you have access to reliable transportation to and from work? 2. This job requires overtime. Do you have any reason you cannot work overtime on short notice? 3. What professional organizations do you belong to? 4. Do you have any special accommodations that will need to be made in order for you to do the job? 5. Can you lift 50 pounds by yourself? [/quote] Oh, sure. I agree that these are all fine (in the last case, as long as the job requires that task at some point). I’ve been asked these questions plenty of times. > [@](#): > > 1. Do you like seafood? We have a buffet every Friday. What about cake? We all like cake here. > 2. How about them Sox? That last pitch was amazing! These have nothing to do with job performance, and I’d be suspicious. The baseball question I can see coming up in smalltalk. I don’t know what information my response would give that could be used to discriminate, unless the interviewer wants to weed out anyone who isn’t a Sox fan. Maybe he wants to see if I grew up in the area or something. Rephrase #6 as “Do you like shellfish”, and I think we have a serious no-no. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573/33 "2007-12-19T23:16:44Z")
[QUOTE=Gfactor] [http://www.sacsconsulting.com/ht0007.htm](http://www.sacsconsulting.com/ht0007.htm) _And see_, [http://www.dot.state.oh.us/dist3/highway/construc/eeo/question.htm](http://www.dot.state.oh.us/dist3/highway/construc/eeo/question.htm) [/QUOTE] Thanks for coming in! I’m curious about the prohibition against asking about military discharge status. Why are you prohibited from asking about dishonorable discharges? Of course, I have no idea what would cause someone to be dishonorably discharged. I always figured you got it for some violation of military laws. Can you ask about convictions for violations of military law? ---
**Author:** ![Emmy2635](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/919ad9/32.png) [@Emmy2635](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emmy2635)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573/34 "2007-12-19T23:34:24Z")
[QUOTE=Bayard] Rephrase #6 as “Do you like shellfish”, and I think we have a serious no-no. [/QUOTE] What do you mean by this? There are no laws that prohibit discrimination based on food preferences. There are also no laws that prohibit employers from asking questions in interviews that aren’t job related. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573/35 "2007-12-19T23:47:07Z")
[QUOTE=missbunny] [quote=Sean Factotum This is an illegal question? Right now a dozen or so states are holding individual employers legally liable to prove the citizenship of their employees. (Arizona, I believe, is the latest state to pass legislation on this.)[/quote] I think that law is a requirement that employers verify I-9 information, isn’t it? Not that they prove someone’s citizenship. Edit: also, it’s after they are hired, not before. Unless the law has been changed very recently, it’s illegal to ask BEFORE hiring if someone is a U.S. citizen. What is legal is either “Do you have the right to work in the U.S.?” and “If hired, would you be able to meet the security clearance requirements of this job?” and jobs that _have_ a security-clearance requirement that one be a citizen must state this in the advertisement and during the application process. If there is no security-clearance requirement, then it is not required that anyone be a U.S. citizen: merely that they have the legal right to work in the U.S. and have the necessary papers to prove it. [/QUOTE] I’d like to elaborate on this. One can be perfectly eligible to work in the US, but not be a US citizen. Among other things, while I think most states allow a someone to start working at age 16 or younger, you can’t start the process of becoming a US citizen until you turn 18. Being a minor, legal immigrant didn’t stop me from working for the town library when I turned 16 or from holding a bunch of jobs in college before I was naturalized. There are jobs for which being a citizen of the US is a requirement and, as I found out the hard way, being in the process of becoming a citizen doesn’t make you eligible for them. The only ones I’ve run into like that are jobs working for the US government, although I wouldn’t be surprised others exist. That’s why, “Are you a US citizen?” is more problematic than, “Are you eligible to work in the US?” I realize this is a pet peeve, but it does get tiring when people conflate legal and illegal immigrants. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573/36 "2007-12-19T23:48:02Z")
[QUOTE=missbunny] Age discrimination is only valid at age 40 and older so it doesn’t matter if someone who is clearly well under 40 is asked anyway. It doesn’t matter if you don’t hire them because you don’t like 30-year-olds: they can’t sue for age discrimination. They have no standing. [/QUOTE] This is incorrect. Age discrimination is age discrimination is age discrimination. The point is that age discrimination from age 40 onward is illegal. Asking a question so as to determine age, regardless of the actual age of the applicant, is illegal (unless there are specific, legitimate merit reasons to be concerned about age, and only then may mean a minimum age to satisfy a legal requirement. So if the job is to work in a liquor store, asking a question of each applicant as to whether they meet the minimum age requirement set by law would be acceptable. Asking a question to determine the age because the employer doesn’t want someone keeling over from a heart attack – assumed to be age 40 or more – because they have to regularly lift and carry full cases of beer, liquor, etc., is not.). The intent of the question is to find out the age of the applicant, and whether or not they might fall into a protected class. In addition, if you ask an applicant an age-related question question, when the interviewer **assumes** the applicant is under 40, the intent has already been established regardless of the age of the applicant. It gets worse if the next applicant is **assumed** by the interviewer to be age 40 or more and does not ask an age-related question. If an investigation is later revealed that the interviewer is deliberately asking/not asking age-related questions **based upon an assumed perception** of age of the applicants, true intent is again displayed. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573/37 "2007-12-20T00:04:56Z")
[QUOTE=missbunny] 1. This job is in the middle of nowhere. Do you have access to reliable transportation to and from work? [/quote] Dodgy. If an applicant is made aware of the transportation requirements and they still apply, it is none of the employer’s business whether their transportation is reliable. > [@](#): > > 1. This job requires overtime. Do you have any reason you cannot work overtime on short notice? Dodgy. Again, similar to the above question. A good employer will put the info into the job announcement and not ask the question. > [@](#): > > 1. What professional organizations do you belong to? Dodgy. Professional organizations imply age discrimination. > [@](#): > > 1. Do you have any special accommodations that will need to be made in order for you to do the job? Warning Bells. Special accommodation questions often are used to discriminate against disabled people and those with lifestyles outside of the “norm.” It’s an iffy gray area, depending upon the size of the workforce of the employer and the specific anti-discrimination laws the employer may be subject. > [@](#): > > 1. Can you lift 50 pounds by yourself? Dodgy. It can imply age discrimination. More importantly, OSHA considerations lurk in the background where the employer may not care if you get hurt on the job. > [@](#): > > 1. Do you like seafood? We have a buffet every Friday. What about cake? We all like cake here. > 2. How about them Sox? That last pitch was amazing! Questions irrelevant to doing the job, unless it’s a seafood place, a bakery or you work at Wrigley Field. The implication is to determine religious status of the applicant and the employer won’t accommodate outside of normal Saturday/Sunday weekends. Having said all this, each series of questions may not be illegal at face value, but several of these questions during an interview may go to establish discriminatory intent. A decent interviewer will only ask merit questions directly related to performing the job and legitimate qualifications to do the job. Any questions asked outside of these two main areas should be seen as suspect and an attempt to gather information where the intent may be to discriminate. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573/38 "2007-12-20T00:17:37Z")
[QUOTE=Bayard] Thanks for coming in! I’m curious about the prohibition against asking about military discharge status. Why are you prohibited from asking about dishonorable discharges? Of course, I have no idea what would cause someone to be dishonorably discharged. I always figured you got it for some violation of military laws. Can you ask about convictions for violations of military law? [/QUOTE] Switching states because I found the Illinois statute first: > [@](#): > > Section 2510.20 Statutory Prohibition > > Section 2-102 of the Illinois Human Rights Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 68, pars. 2-102), prohibits discrimination in employment in Illinois by employers, labor organizations and employment agencies. Under Section 1-103(Q) of the Act, unlawful discrimination includes discrimination based upon a person’s “unfavorable discharge from military service.” Section 1-103(P) of the Act defines an unfavorable military discharge as encompassing any discharge, from any component of the United States military service, which is less than honorable but not “Dishonorable.” A person who has received a military discharge falling within those parameters may not, as a result thereof, be subjected to discrimination except as permitted in an exemption to the Act. [Section 2510](http://www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/056/056025100000200R.html) So Illinois, at least doesn’t bar discrimination based on dishonorable discharges, it’s the ones in-between: [Integrated Publishing - Your source for military specifications and educational publications](http://www.tpub.com/content/advancement/14325/css/14325_487.htm) Connecticut: > [@](#): > > Did you serve in the military? What type of discharge did you receive? > You can ask about the type of discharge on the employment application for the purpose of determining eligibility for veteran’s preference. However, this question deals with asking about the type of discharge during the interview process especially when follow-up questions are asked about the discharge. > > The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), the Veteran’s Administration (VA) and the Department of Labor (DOL) positions are as follows: The EEOC asks the question “Did you receive an Honorable or General Discharge?” This is to ascertain Veteran’s Preference status. The OFCCP suggests that it is best practice to only ask a question to ascertain Veteran’s Preference status. Further, the OFCCP explained that it is “best practice” not to ask about type of discharge in the interview process as it can lead to equal opportunity type issues. For example, if the discharge was for medical reasons, this information is revealed during the interview and the interviewer then begins asking about the medical condition. DOL’s position is that an employer should avoid questions about discharge during the interview unless business necessity can be shown. > > It should be noted that at UCONN, questions relating to Veteran’s Preference are asked on the application and are processed through Human Resources. During the interview process you may ask whether or not the applicant has served in the military, the period of service, rank at the time of discharge, and the type of training and work experience received while in the service. It is appropriate to ask questions pertaining to military service or experience when they relate to the bona fide job requirements. For instance, if an individual is being interviewed for a job teaching bomb disposal techniques, and the applicant learned his or her trade in the military it is appropriate to ask questions about the training, whether or not the individual had practical experience in the field, etc. > > Although it seems a contradiction, on the one hand discouraging questions about military discharge, but on the other asking that question on the application, it is not. The questions on the application are used to ascertain one’s Veteran’s Preference Status. The questions during an interview are used to ascertain one’s ability to meet the job requirement of a specific position, and therefore, questions concerning military discharge are rarely pertinent. > > To conclude, you can ask about the type of discharge during the interview process. However, the interviewer needs to be versed enough in protected category concerns to know when the questioning should cease when the responses from the candidate stray into these areas. [University of Connecticut](http://web.uconn.edu/wwwode/quest.html) _and see_ [http://en.allexperts.com/q/Civil-Service-Jobs-2315/job-Other-Honorable-discharge-1.htm](http://en.allexperts.com/q/Civil-Service-Jobs-2315/job-Other-Honorable-discharge-1.htm) (Some states, however, prohibit discrimination based on military discharge. Such laws do not prohibit denial of a job due to a criminal conviction, which accompanies punitive separations. You should really check with your own state to determine eligibility.) ---
**Author:** ![Emmy2635](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/919ad9/32.png) [@Emmy2635](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emmy2635)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573/39 "2007-12-20T00:42:44Z")
[QUOTE=Duckster] Having said all this, each series of questions may not be illegal at face value, but several of these questions during an interview may go to establish discriminatory intent. [/QUOTE] Some of these questions are absolutely legitimate questions for employers to ask. “Do you have reliable transportation?” is relevant for employers who need their employees to, you know, SHOW UP ON TIME. “Can you lift 50 lbs?” is relevant for employers who need their employees to carry heavy objects. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573/40 "2007-12-20T01:23:18Z")
[QUOTE=Emmy2635] What do you mean by this? There are no laws that prohibit discrimination based on food preferences. There are also no laws that prohibit employers from asking questions in interviews that aren’t job related. [/QUOTE] Kosher Jews don’t eat shellfish. It’d be like asking, “We looove pork around here! You?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-report-an-employer-for-illegal-interview-questions/430573.md?page=3)