Federal and state laws prohibit asking certain questions during an interview. The basic rule of thumb for playing it safe when conducting an interview is to keep it job-related.
Here’s a list of topics to avoid:
- Age or date of birth
- Sex, race, creed, color, religion or national origin
- Disabilities of any kind
- Date and type of military discharge; military service
- Marital status
- Maiden name (for females)
- Citizenship (however, “do you have the legal right to work in the U.S.” is acceptable)
- Whether a person has children and what childcare arrangements have been made
- Psychological treatment history
- Arrest record
- Number of sick days last year
- Worker’s compensation filings or injuries on the job
- Retirement plans
- Residence ownership
- Pregnancy status
- Credit history
- Birthplace of parents or spouse
For more information, you can consult the EEOC: http://www.eeoc.gov/abouteeo/overview_practices.html .
