Most managers know that an employer may be held liable for making discriminatory hiring decisions; however, not all managers know what questions are—and are not—appropriate to ask during an interview.
Simply put, a manager conducting an interview should not attempt to solicit information to enable the manager to make a hiring decision based on an applicant’s protected characteristic. Instead, a manager should tailor questions to align with the specific job’s requirements and phrase questions so that the questions do not sound discriminatory.
For example, a manager may be concerned about an applicant’s work eligibility or an applicant’s ability to travel on short notice; both are valid concerns. Rather than asking an applicant about her country of origin or her child-care arrangements, however, a manager could simply ask, “Are you eligible to work in the United States?” or “Will you be able to travel on short notice?” By asking these questions, a manager could gain needed information without leading an applicant to believe her national origin, gender or other protected characteristic influenced the decision-making process.
To speak to a Dallas discrimination attorney, please contact the employment law lawyers at Clouse Dunn Khoshbin LLP at [email protected].
