QUESTION
If I am interviewing employees to work in my self-owned small business, is it illegal to ask for marital status/children in my interview?
Asked on Jul 23rd, 2012 on Business Law - Texas
More details to this question:
Would it be illegal to choose a particular applicant over another applicant because one applicant was unmarried, or did not have children, over one who did? How about the inverse, specifically choosing a married person with children over an unmarried person? If I were to ask a question like "What are your plans for the next five years", and an interviewee volunteered information about spouse/children, am I legally allowed to use that information in making a hiring decision?
1 ANSWER
Reviews not shown
1 Award
It is lawful to ask just about anything during an interview. The issue is what you do with the information. A legal problem arises because there is presumption, albeit it a rebuttable one, that the principal purpose of gathering such information is to discriminate in a manner prohibited by law. Most states prohibit marital-status discrimination, but Texas is not such a state.
Answered on Jul 24th, 2012 at 11:01 AM