Asked illegal question during interview. (letters, secretary, job interviews, benefits)
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Yes, he did also ask when I graduated college. All I said was the 90's. This is a franchised office of a large national company. I really can't say too much as it will give away exactly who they are. The person who interviewed me was the franchise owner and the office manager.
Unless it's Chik-Fil-A (then it would be pointless), I'd call the parent company and complain about the sexist and unnaturally invasive quality of the interview. If this is a national company, this is unlikely to be something they'd want going on.
Honestly, I'd have given the guy a polite but firm dressing down to have presumed that I needed my husband's permission. Because no, I wouldn't want to work there. Then I'd have called the parent company. That's really what I think you should do if it won't hurt you in the overall industry - raise nine kinds of hell and let the parent company know this is not acceptable or professional.
I'll say this...I know a lot of people that are devoutly religious, and make no attempt to hide it, whether at home or at work. Those that tattoo it on their foreheads and make it a big part of their branding effort are the ones to watch out for.
The ones that sit there and talk about it ad nauseum and have it all over their corporate literature or signatures and whatnot are the ones that seemingly end up getting shut down by the IRS, locked away for some reason, etc, etc.
I live in NW Indiana and had an interview this week for a Marketing Rep position for a very large medical lab facility in Illinois. I met with the owner of the facility (some are franchised owned and some are corporate owned) and the Office Manager. During the interview, out of no where the owner asks me if I'm religious? I was taken back by the question as I know you're not supposed to ask that. I look over at the Office Manager and you can tell she was shocked too. I said, "Well aren't most people to some degree"? And he said "No" and then proceeded to ask about my skills, etc. About 10 minutes later he asks "Did you go to church this past Sunday?" And I said "No", because I actually did not. It's then that I notice he had a cross on the wall in his office as well. Soon after he says I should ask my husband how he feels about me working there. I asked "Why"? and he said "Well you're married right? Do you also have kids? Your husband might need to approve you working". I'm sure after that I had a shocked looked on my face! He then says they'll call me when they are done with interviews if I qualify for a second interview.
Again, I'm more than qualified for this position. I found it strange how it all happened and I'm sure my interview was cut short due to my answers from his religious type questions. I feel if I don't get this position that I was discriminated some how. I am in my mid 40's, but don't look like it, more like mid 30's and Caucasian, blond and fair skinned.
What do you think and how would you proceed? I'm not one of those people who talks about suing and getting lawyers, etc., but this behavior was really beyond anything I've ever experienced before in an interview! I'm really bummed about it too because it paid extremely well.
Why don't you just tell him you spoke with your husband, with your Pastor, and they gave you permission to work outside the Home. Also mention your not available to work Sundays because you will be busy with your Church. = WINNING ?
I live in NW Indiana and had an interview this week for a Marketing Rep position for a very large medical lab facility in Illinois. I met with the owner of the facility (some are franchised owned and some are corporate owned) and the Office Manager. During the interview, out of no where the owner asks me if I'm religious? I was taken back by the question as I know you're not supposed to ask that. I look over at the Office Manager and you can tell she was shocked too. I said, "Well aren't most people to some degree"? And he said "No" and then proceeded to ask about my skills, etc. About 10 minutes later he asks "Did you go to church this past Sunday?" And I said "No", because I actually did not. It's then that I notice he had a cross on the wall in his office as well. Soon after he says I should ask my husband how he feels about me working there. I asked "Why"? and he said "Well you're married right? Do you also have kids? Your husband might need to approve you working". I'm sure after that I had a shocked looked on my face! He then says they'll call me when they are done with interviews if I qualify for a second interview.
Again, I'm more than qualified for this position. I found it strange how it all happened and I'm sure my interview was cut short due to my answers from his religious type questions. I feel if I don't get this position that I was discriminated some how. I am in my mid 40's, but don't look like it, more like mid 30's and Caucasian, blond and fair skinned.
What do you think and how would you proceed? I'm not one of those people who talks about suing and getting lawyers, etc., but this behavior was really beyond anything I've ever experienced before in an interview! I'm really bummed about it too because it paid extremely well.
I think you met someone who voted for Mike Pence and Donald Trump and thinks religion is being stomped out by the left...
Would you want to work for a company like that which I hope was a franchise operation and not a company owned one---but then Chik Fil A corporate might have a similar attitude...
Why don't you just tell him you spoke with your husband, with your Pastor, and they gave you permission to work outside the Home. Also mention your not available to work Sundays because you will be busy with your Church. = WINNING ?
She could also have mentioned that the amount they tithe would be increased if she got this job and they were looking forward to helping their church grown and enlarge its outreach...
Yes, he did also ask when I graduated college. All I said was the 90's. This is a franchised office of a large national company. I really can't say too much as it will give away exactly who they are. The person who interviewed me was the franchise owner and the office manager.
Than contact their corporate office and tell them of your experience in this office.
As others have said you dodged a bullet, many of us have gone on interviews where we are more than qualified for the job, there is more to it than that.
It has to be a good work environment, clearly this one isn't. So it really doesn't matter if you're more than qualified.
I suppose there could have been better candidates; however, I have almost 20 years in the business. The fact that several questions were asked of me that should not have been asked during the interview process is disturbing. I don’t know if they hired someone else or not or if they even made a decision yet. I just had the interview on Thursday, but it had bothered me ever since. Do I want to work there now? Probably not, but it was a good paying job and it’s too bad.
I was asking if they could get away with what they are doing and if it is in fact discrimination if I’m not offered the job? I feel it very well could be. Like I said earlier, even the office managers eyes got big when he started asking these questions of me!
Years ago I had an interview at a company and like you had years of experience and was a good fit.
The HR woman said to me prior to meeting the hiring manager "you're not looking to making friends here?", I thought that strange until I met the hiring manager.
Awful woman, she was 35 minutes late to the interview, no apology, made a comment about where I lived and that my commute would be long( I wasn't the one who was late), mentioned a man's name of a company that I worked for and asked me if I knew him(there were 10,000 employees), I said no, and than she acted like I was lying about working there....LOL.
After the interview I went back to the HR woman and told her I wasn't interested and have never been treated so rudely.
I told one of my vendors that I dealt with and they said you dodged a bullet, she is a horrible person.
The good pay and being qualified goes out the window when you run across people like this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlygal
Having 20 years in the business doesn't mean you are a guaranteed fit for this particular job. I know candidates have a hard time believing that they aren't perfect for every job they apply to.
It's not discrimination to ask the question. It's illegal to base a hiring decision off any answers received. How are you going to prove discrimination when they can show the qualifications of the person hired (if not you) next to yours?
Again, feel free to lodge a general complaint but I think calling this discrimination is a bit premature.
In the future, when faced with these questions, just answer, "I'd rather not discuss that but I would like to share the time I ran the marketing campaign for..." Redirect back to safe territory.
Also employers aren't supposed to ask your age however they want to know what year you graduated high school or college which is a sneaky way of finding out how old you are.
Not necessarily. I got my B.A. in 2000, age 25. My dad got his Engineering degree in 1975, age 35. He got his Associates 15 years earlier.
Unless it's Chik-Fil-A (then it would be pointless), I'd call the parent company and complain about the sexist and unnaturally invasive quality of the interview. If this is a national company, this is unlikely to be something they'd want going on.
You might add Hobby Lobby to the list with Chik-Fil-A
I would definitely encourage you to report this to the EEOC, and also consider reporting it to the parent company of this franchisee.
There is no legitimate basis for asking these questions - the fact that it's not illegal per se doesn't change the fact that it's not a job-related question. I think that both the EEOC and the parent company would be very interested to find out that this is happening.
I agree. I don't know why you are getting negative responses to your post. This was clearly out of line, and I would report to the head office, HR, and EEOC...as well as make a note on Glassdoor.
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