The questions you can't ask.

• Author: Spendlove, Gretta
• Position: Legal Briefs - Employment interviewing

A young woman law student interviewed for a job in Salt Lake City as a law clerk. She was asked how many children she had and admitted she had two toddlers. The interviewer, a senior partner with the law firm, asked, "Why should we hire you? You'll just quit in a couple of years to stay home with your kids." The year was 1977, and the young woman was Gretta Spendlove. I didn't get that job but soon landed another and am in fact still practicing law 26 years later.

Employers have asked inappropriate or offensive questions in job interviews for decades. What's new is that many of those questions are now illegal.

Violating the Civil Rights Laws. Under Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act, as well as under other federal and state laws, it's illegal to discriminate against job applicants on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, citizenship, disability or age. Employers should avoid questions on these topics. The reason? If an applicant is rejected and has been asked impermissible questions, he may claim the rejection was the result of discrimination (and sue you).

"The illegal, off-the-wall questions are not as frequent now as they used to be," says David Hilbig, president of 0CM-Lee Hecht Harrison, a Salt Lake career counseling and outplacement firm. "Still, interviewers do sometimes ask them, even at large Utah companies."

"'What religion are you?' 'When do you plan to have more children?' Those are obviously bad," Hilbig comments, "even if the employer quickly adds, 'I know I'm not supposed to ask that.' " But some interviewers ask indirect questions that are equally discriminatory. Hilbig tells of one interviewer who told job applicants that it was a company practice to buy a keg of beer for employees every few Fridays. "What do you think of that?" he asked. After one applicant gave an answer that pleased him, the interviewer commented, "That question is to screen out all the LDS."

Questions About Disabilities. The Amencans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits asking questions about an applicant's disability before a job offer is made. There is more flexibility in asking questions after making the offer, and an offer can be made contingent on a successful medical exam.

How can employers find out what they need to know without violating the...