Illegal Applications

“I have a job application I’ve used for years. The latest candidate told me I have illegal questions on it. What can’t I ask?”

Your HR Survival Tip

There aren’t a lot of things we’ve removed from job applications but there were strong  reasons for the removal of each.

I think the first to disappear was the space to enter the applicant’s social security number. As identify theft increased, this information was removed for security reasons. You don’t need to know the social security number until you’ve made an offer so it was easy to delete.

Age discrimination encouraged the removal of anything indicating the age of the applicant. So the date of birth was deleted, as well as the year they graduated from high school or college. Now we just ask if they graduated or how many years they attended.

Convictions for felonies and misdemeanors are often discussed and these questions are moving toward deletion. If this information is critical to hiring, then running a background check after an offer is made covers this. If their record is in direct conflict with the work they’d be doing, you have a reason to retract the offer. However, make sure you follow the proper process when notifying the applicant.

I’ve talked with people completing online applications and it seems many companies are still asking questions they shouldn’t. If you’re using an online application, please review and correct it. One online application told the candidate to enter their date of birth only if they were under 40 years of age! I still haven’t figured out why they thought that was better.

Candidates won’t always tell you the application is wrong or your interview questions are illegal. However, asking for information like that may impact the qualify of the candidates who apply or accept your offer.