Courses / Recruiting Fundamentals
17. Avoid Illegal or Biased Questions
Identifying and refraining from questions that probe protected characteristics or create legal risk.
Recruiting Fundamentals: Sourcing, Screening, Structured Interviews, and Scorecards
Avoid Illegal or Biased Questions
Questions that probe protected characteristics or create legal risk must be avoided in every hiring conversation.
"I want to learn if they'll do the job well — not pry into things that could get us sued or unfairly exclude people."
Avoid questions that ask about protected characteristics (age, race, religion, sex, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, marital/family status, etc.) or that steer decisions based on them; instead ask job-relevant, behavioral, and competency-based questions.
"I want to learn if they'll do the job well — not pry into things that could get us sued or unfairly exclude people."
Avoid questions that ask about protected characteristics (age, race, religion, sex, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, marital/family status, etc.) or that steer decisions based on them; instead ask job-relevant, behavioral, and competency-based questions.