INTERVIEW DO’S AND DON’TS

Federal and/or state laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion,
national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity, criminal record (inquiries only), disability, sexual
orientation, genetics, active military personnel, or past involvement in a discrimination
complaint.

A cardinal rule when interviewing is to avoid asking questions of candidates if the answers could
not properly be considered in making the hiring decision. Even if the candidate brings up or
makes a comment related to an area that is unlawful, do not pursue it. Stay with questions that
have to do with the candidate's education, training, work history and job-related skills.

Discriminatory behavior is improper, even when it is not intended. The use of certain questions
would not necessarily show that you mean to discriminate but such questions can be used, and
have been used in a discriminatory way. Therefore, the following subjects should be avoided
because they may show gender-based discrimination.

• Marital status or non-marital arrangements

• Spouse's employment
• How spouse feels about candidate's working or traveling
• Child care arrangements

You may cite the hours required of the job and ask whether the candidate will have difficulty
meeting them (ask of both sexes, however). You may also ask about the candidate's availability
for weekend or evening work if the job so requires. If the candidate indicates a need for
religious observance, this fact cannot be used in the hiring decision unless "reasonable
accommodation" for the religious observance would be an "undue hardship" for the college.
Specific guidance is available through the Human Resources and Affirmative Action offices.

RACE

Clearly, unless the information is for a legitimate purpose (see information under “Application
Forms” below and “Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications” above), pre-employment questions
about race can suggest that race will be used as a basis for making selection decisions. If the
information is used in the selection decision and members of particular racial groups are
excluded from employment, the inquiries can constitute evidence of discrimination.

The same would hold true for inquiries regarding an applicant’s gender, religion or national
origin. Some less obvious examples of unacceptable inquiries are discussed below.

DISABILITIES

The Americans with Disabilities act (ADA) prohibits all questions about a candidate's disability at
the pre-offer stage of interview. It is unacceptable to ask an interviewee whether s/he is
disabled or about the nature of the disability even if it is an obvious disability. You may however
ask a disabled candidate questions about his or her ability to perform job-related functions. If
the disability is obvious and the interviewee does not wish to address/discuss the disability or
does not request reasonable accommodations yet indicates that s/he is able to perform the
major functions of the job, it is unlawful to disqualify the candidate - you cannot discriminate on
the basis of the person's disability.
If you are not certain an interviewee is a person with a disability you may ask if s/he knows of
any reason why s/he would not be able to perform the essential functions of the job s/he is
seeking. If the answer is yes and reasons are stated there should be follow up questions
regarding possible accommodations that would assist the candidate in performing the major
functions of the job.

After a job offer has been made you can ask about disabilities and conduct medical
examinations and the offer can be conditioned on the applicant's answers to the questions and
the results of an examination.

Note: The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Council) takes the position that if the employer reasonably believes
an applicant will need accommodation to perform the job, the employer can ask limited questions about the
accommodation at the pre-offer stage. However, the employer is still prohibited from asking about the disability
itself (excerpted from CUPA, Legal Watch, January 1996).

NATIONAL ORIGIN

It is acceptable to inquire into a candidate's ability to read, write or speak a foreign language
where the position requires those skills. However, it is inadvisable to ask the candidate how s/he
acquired these skills if it would disclose national origin or descent.

It is legal to ask if a candidate is a U.S. citizen; however, it is illegal to require (with very few
exceptions) that they be U.S. citizens to be hired. It is also legal to ask an alien if s/he is
authorized to work in the U.S. However, you many not ask the candidate to show you specific
documents (e.g. green card) to verify work authorization. The candidate, if offered the job, is to
present to the employer any combination of legally acceptable documents of his/her choice to
establish work authorization within three days of his/her date of hire. (Contact the HREO
department for listing.)

Age
If an applicant is 40 years old or older, an employer may not take any adverse employment
actions against because of the applicant’s age. This includes: refusing to hire, terminating,
discharging, or laying off, refusing to promote and paying lower wages or giving fewer benefits,
or discrimination in any other term or condition of employment.

ORGANIZATIONS/MEMBERSHIPS

Inquiries about professional memberships related to the job are acceptable (e.g. Chemical
Engineering Society). Questions about organizations whose name or character indicate the
member's economic or social class, race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, marital status,
religion or national origin should be avoided - country clubs, social clubs, religious clubs,
fraternal orders, etc.

Never inquire about activities in political or civil rights organizations or ask the applicant
whether s/he has in any way been involved in discrimination complaints or lawsuits.

It is also inadvisable to ask any questions designed to disclose age, arrest records,
credit/financial status, home/car ownership, type of military discharge, political affiliation, sexual
orientation or religious beliefs.

***The Human Resources Department has resources to assist search committees/hiring managers in the process of
conducting effective interviews and to clarify the legal points in the interview process.

Updated: 9/8/15
 MILITARY DISCHARGE

Military discharge inquiries are not illegal, but they are likely ill-advised. By making such
inquiries, employers could subject themselves to possible disparate impact claims. The EEOC has
stated that basing hiring decisions solely on military discharge status violates Title VII because
discharge status has been found to adversely impact African-Americans, and it is not
unequivocally tied to general business necessities. Questions relative to type of military
discharge should be asked only when the information sought is directly relevant to the job and
should be accompanied by a statement to the effect that less than honorable discharges are not
absolute bars to employment, depending on the nature of the job sought.

Note that inquiring about veteran status (i.e., “Are you a military veteran?”) is not forbidden
under law. The EEOC states in its 2006 Discussion Letter, “discrimination based upon veteran’s
status is not covered by federal EEO laws; however, state laws may prohibit such
discrimination.”

ARREST AND CONVICTION RECORDS

Using arrest or conviction records as an absolute bar to employment disproportionately excludes

certain racial groups. Therefore, such records should not be used in this manner unless there is a
business need for their use.

Whether there is a business need to exclude persons with conviction records from particular jobs
depends on the nature of the job, the nature and seriousness of the offense, and the length of
time since the conviction and/or incarceration.

Unlike a conviction, an arrest is not reliable evidence that an applicant has committed a crime.
Thus, an exclusion based on an arrest record is only justified if it appears not only that the
conduct is job-related and relatively recent but also that the applicant or employee actually
engaged in the conduct for which he or she was arrested.

Acceptable and Unacceptable Inquiries for Interviews and/or Applications

Topic Acceptable Unacceptable
Age Generally; the only proper How old are you?
question is, "Are you under
18, yes or no?"
* Please see note below for
additional guidance
Attendance/reliability What hours and days can
you work?
Attendance/reliability Are there specific times that
you cannot work?
Attendance/reliability Do you have responsibilities
other than work that will
interfere with specific job
requirements such as
traveling?
Attendance/reliability Do you have a reliable
method of getting to work?
Citizenship/ Are you legally eligible for
national origin employment in the United
States?
If Unacceptable, What Is
the Reason?
Inquiry into the date of birth
or age of the applicant,
except as indicated to the
left.
How many children do you Could be viewed as
have? discriminatory toward
females
What religion are you? Could be viewed as religious
discrimination
What are your child care Could be viewed as
arrangements? discriminatory toward
females
Do you own a car? Could be considered racial
discrimination
What is your national origin? Could be considered national
Where are your parents origin discrimination
from?

Updated: 9/8/15
Citizenship/ Have you ever worked under What is your maiden name? Could be considered national
national origin a different name? origin discrimination
National origin None What is your father’s Not only are these irrelevant,
surname? What are the but they could be considered
names of your relatives? national origin discrimination
Arrest and Have you ever been Have you ever been Could be considered racial
conviction convicted of a felony? arrested? discrimination

**Please see note below for

additional guidance
Disabilities Can you perform the duties Do you have any disabilities? Could be considered
of the job you are applying
for?
Disabilities None
Disabilities None
Emergency contact What is the name and
information address of the person to be address of the relative to be origin discrimination and
notified in case of an
emergency? (Request only
after the individual has been
employed.)
Credit record None
Credit record Credit references may be
used if in compliance with
the Fair Credit Reporting Act
of 1970 and the Consumer
Credit Reporting Reform Act
of 1996
Credit record None
Military record What type of education,
training and work experience
relevant to job did you
receive while in the military?
Language What languages do you
speak and write fluently? (if
the job requires additional
languages)
Organizations Inquiry into an applicant’s
membership in organizations
that the applicant considers
relevant to his or her ability
to perform job
Race or color None
discrimination against
disabled persons
Have you ever filed a Could be considered
workers’ compensation discrimination against
claim? disabled persons
Have you ever been injured
Could be considered
on the job? discrimination against
disabled persons
What is the name and Could be considered national
notified in case of an possibly could violate state
emergency? antidiscrimination laws
relative to sexual orientation
Do you own your own home? Irrelevant and could be
considered racial
discrimination
Have your wages ever been Irrelevant and could be
garnished? considered racial
discrimination
Have you ever declared Irrelevant and could be
bankruptcy? considered racial
discrimination
What type of discharge did Irrelevant and could be
you receive? considered racial
discrimination
What is your native Could be considered national
language? How did you learn origin discrimination
to read, write or speak a
foreign language?
List all clubs, societies and Could be considered racial or
lodges to which you belong. national origin discrimination
Complexion or color of skin. Could be considered racial or
national origin discrimination

Weight, height, eye color Only if there is a bona fide Could be considered racial or
occupational qualification national origin discrimination
Religion Only if there is a bona fide What is your religious Could be considered religious
occupational qualification denomination, religious discrimination
affiliations, church, parish,
pastor? What religious
holidays do you observe?
Gender Only if there is a bona fide Do you wish to be addressed Could be considered gender
occupational qualification as Mr.?, Mrs.?, Miss? or Ms.? discrimination.
Updated: 9/8/15
Previous and current What was your previous Could be considered racial or
addresses address? How long did you national origin discrimination
reside there? How long have
you lived at your current
address? Do you own your
own home?
Education Do you have a high school What year did you graduate Could be considered age
diploma or equivalent? Do from high school or college? discrimination
you have a university or
college degree? (if relevant
to job performance)
*Note on age: Questions about age may be allowed if necessary to satisfy the provisions of a state or federal law (for
example, certain public safety positions have age limits for hiring and retiring). Also, if the Commission has previously
identified age as a bona fide occupational qualification for the position.

**Note on arrest records: Using arrest or conviction records as an absolute bar to employment disproportionately
excludes certain racial groups. Therefore, such records should not be used in this manner unless there is a business
need for their use. Thus, an exclusion based on an arrest record is only justified if it appears not only that the conduct
is job-related and relatively recent but also that the applicant or employee actually engaged in the conduct for which
he or she was arrested. According to the EEOC, whether there is a business need to exclude persons with conviction
records from particular jobs depends on the nature of the job, the nature and seriousness of the offense, and the
length of time since the conviction and/or incarceration. In addition, some states bar the use of arrest records in
employment decisions.

Updated: 9/8/15