Key Questions - Legal Interview Questions

Interview and Negotiate

Interview Tips
   • Types of Interviews
       º Informational Interviews

Schedule Interviews

Key Questions
   • Legal Interview Questions

Interview Follow-up

Salary Negotiation
   • Sample Salary Questions
     and Answers

Employee Benefits
    • Why They're Important
    • Types of Benefits
    • Useful Facts
    • Are You Ready to
      Negotiate?

What kinds of questions can be asked?

Questions asked in an interview should focus on your qualifications for the job. Although recent legislation helps ensure that you are not asked illegal questions, occasionally these questions come up on an application or in an interview. Human resources personnel are usually aware of what is legal and illegal. However, others involved in the hiring process may not have the same awareness.

It is your right to withhold information unrelated to the job. However, research shows that refusing to answer questions may hurt your employment prospects. Think through possible illegal questions ahead of time and decide how you will handle them. If you are not comfortable answering an illegal question, prepare a suitable answer ahead of time. A suitable answer is one that allows you to maintain your privacy without offending the interviewer.

Listed below are examples of:

Legal questions
Legal requests for information after hiring
Illegal questions
Questions prohibited by Title I of the ADA

For more information about your legal rights, contact the Minnesota Department of Human Rights or your local Job Service Office. For more information about interview questions in general, go to Key Questions.

Legal questions:

What education do you have?
What experience qualifies you for this job?
Do you have licenses and certifications for this job?
Are you willing to travel?
What name(s) are your work records under?
Do you have the legal right to work in the United States?
Are you available for overtime?

After hiring, an employer legally may request:

A copy of your birth certificate
Affirmative action statistics
Your marital status (married or single only)
Proof of citizenship
Photographs
Physical examination and drug testing
Social Security card

Illegal questions

Some questions are illegal for an employer to ask before a conditional offer of employment. According to the Minnesota Human Rights Act, at Minnesota Statutes, section 363.03, subdivision 1(4)(a), these may include the following questions:

Examples of illegal questions

What is your age or date of birth?
What is your sexual orientation?
What church do you attend?
What is your national origin?
What is your maiden name?
What is your marital status (Circle one: Ms, Mrs., or Miss)?
Are you widowed, divorced, or separated?
What is or was your spouse's name and/or job?
Have you ever filed a workers' compensation claim?
Do you have any physical impairments or disabilities that would prevent you from performing the job for which you are applying?

For more information, visit the Minnesota Department of Human Rights website or call 1.800.657.3704.

Title I of ADA lists these additional prohibited questions:

Have you ever been hospitalized? If so, for what condition?
Have you ever been treated by a psychiatrist or psychologist? If so, for what condition?
Is there any health-related reason that you may not be able to perform the job for which you are applying?
How many days were you absent from work because of illness last year?
Are you taking any prescribed drugs?
Have you ever been treated for drug addiction or alcoholism?

Source: Creative Job Search, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and Minnesota Department of Human Rights.
Page last updated in August 2008.