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Okay, show me the statute that makes it illegal to ask someone "How old are you?" in an interview.
What? Can't find it? Didn't think so. Sorry, but the websites are just plain wrong to state that it's "illegal" - it's not illegal. I agree that it's not a wise question to ask, but not wise and illegal are two entirely different things.
Okay, show me the statute that makes it illegal to ask someone "How old are you?" in an interview.
What? Can't find it? Didn't think so. Sorry, but the websites are just plain wrong to state that it's "illegal" - it's not illegal. I agree that it's not a wise question to ask, but not wise and illegal are two entirely different things.
This article is confusing the issue by using the word "illegal". Note the key phrase, "First of all, there are a limited set of topics that are protected -- in other words, you may not make hiring decisions based on these considerations."
Ergo, and as others have pointed out, it is NOT illegal to ask the question, but it IS illegal to decide against hiring an applicant based on their response to the question.
I'm afraid you're the one who has no idea what you're talking about, and no amount of references to EEOC is going to change that. All the EEOC website does it reiterate what all of us here already know, which is that it's illegal to discriminate on the basis of age and other criteria that fall under the scope of EEOC's jurisdiction.
That's the tricky part. You don't really know whether or not it's being used against you. You can only hope not.
If you don't know, you don't know. There has to be reasonable evidence to suggest that the response to the question was in some way a material factor in a company's decision not to hire a candidate. I agree that it's a stupid question to ask, and that it just opens up the door to potential litigation, but that fact doesn't make the question illegal. Last time I checked, there's something called the First Amendment to the Constitution, which essentially guarantees free speech, even if it's dumb. What's not protected is when a candidate's age is used against him/her in a hiring decision. But a Court would need to know more than just whether the question was asked; they'd have to know if there's any other evidence to substantiate allegations that age was used as a factor in hiring. If, for instance, the candidate was beaten out by another candidate of a similar age, then obviously, there's no discrimination - only a stupid question that shouldn't have been asked. Case dismissed.
Federal law does not prohibit employers from asking an applicant's age or date of birth. However, because such questions may discourage older workers from applying for jobs or may otherwise indicate a possible intent to discriminate based on age, employers should ensure that they ask about age only for a lawful purpose.
So I had a "phone screen" I guess you can call it that. Anyway the person asked me "How old I was?"
It is not illegal to ask how old you are. It is illegal to not hire someone based upon their age. But you have to prove that if you didn't get the job it was because of age. Difficult to do.
20yrsinBranson
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