You need a lot of information before deciding to hire someone. But there are some things you just can’t ask in an interview.
A lot of it’s in the phrasing. Everything you ask should be related to the person’s ability to do the job, but some questions might come out in a way that asks for off-limit details like age, race, religion, disabilities, etc. You need to rephrase those questions in a way that only addresses the work-related details. Here are some examples:
Age discrimination
You can’t ask older candidates how long they think they’ll work until they retire – that’ll open the door for an age discrimination claim. Instead, ask a general question about long-term career goals. You really just want to know how long the would-be employee plans to work for you, so there’s no reason to get specific about retirement.
“Family responsibility” discrimination
You can’t ask if a candidate has kids. That’ll leave the company open to sex discrimination charges if it looks like you treat men with children differently than you treat similarly-situated women. You’re better off not knowing about familial status. If you’re filling a position that requires odd hours or a lot of overtime, just make sure the candidate understands that and ask if availability will be a problem for any reason.
Disability discrimination
Finally, you should avoid questions regarding health and physical abilities, such as those about height, weight, injuries, disabilities, etc. Instead ask specific questions about what’s required for the job, for example, “You’d have to carry boxes weighing up to 50 pounds – can you do that?”
