Legal Questions Employment Issue

[allamericangirl]

what do you know about improper/illegal hr practices in hiring procedures?

i recieved am employment application in the mail from a company that came to my school's career fair. there are questions on this application that i believe are illegal and descriminatory to ask in the us. i have been an independent contractor for many years so i am not an expert, or even a novice when it comes to knowing what questions employers should not be asking potential employees. i wonder how many of us have been dupped into answering illegal and descriminatory questions because of our ignorance about employee laws and our rights.

this is a list of some of the questions that i have been asked to answer on this application that i think are illegal to ask a potitential employee.

the company's name is seniors _ _ _ and the second line under their name reads: elderly travel and companion care referral agency. i don't know if this is a franchise or an individual company. this particular co is located here in colorado.

questions i believe to be illegal:

birthdate:__________

heigth:__________ weight:__________

do you own a home?__________

please circle any of the following health related conditions, which are part of your current health status:

diabetes alcolholism arthritis

seizure disorder back problems high blood pressure

hearing problems vision problems

while seniors _ _ _ generally does not take clients who need to be lifted many of our clients need to be assisted getting in and out of bed, and in and out of chairs, etc., would you be able to assist clients in this manner? yes no

would you be able to lift a client if they had deteriorated to this point?

yes no

please name the person or persons whom we should notify in the event of an emergency.

name:___________phone:__________relationship:_________________

prior to interviewing or to stating if they are going to hire me or not, they request the following information on a separate form, which they call the

independent contractor status agreement

social security number:__________________________

driver's license number:__________________________ state:__________

my thoughts:

i may never get a job at this rate because i am very reluctant to give out some of this very private information such as ss# and drivers license # through the mail or to people that i don't know, or prior to an employment relationship with someone.

i have no problem with giving adequate information specifically to a background check company so that a background check may be done ... if the information is also made available to me for my review so that i know what is being said about me and that the information being given is correct or incorrect. i would be willing to give the information to the background check company personally, or send it to them registered mail in a sealed envelope, but ai am not willing to hand this information over to some hr persone somewhere, or to someone that calls themselves a placement company.

am i out of line here?

[Noryn]

As a nurse recruiter, I can attest that all of these questions are illegal.

I dont know if I agree with you. From the description of that job, the employees will be responsible for transportation of their patients. The health questions seem very legal to ask. If my mother or father belonged to this program I would not want someone who had vision or hearing problems to drive them (unless those problems were corrected). Also it states that there may be heavy lifting involved. If you care about people you will not have someone lifting that has a bad back. It is dangerous for the employee and the patient.

So those questions I think are intended for the safety of all involved. I dont necessarily see anything wrong with those questions. The homeowner one did throw me for a loop but it may be there for credit report information. Date of birth can be used to confirm your identity but also to make sure you are eligible for this job although a generic question such as are you over 18 may do.

I cant understand the height or weight questions unless again it is used as identifying information if they would check DMV records. Looks like it would be easier on them to just ask for a copy of your drivers license--has your date of birth, height and weight on it.

[chadash]

I'd be willing to bet the questions about your abilities to lift a patient are perfectly legal. Since this IS a reasonable expectation, given the type of job you're applying for, my understanding is that they CAN ask you a question like that. They couldn't ask that of someone who's answering phones all day, but at least in NC, they CAN ask you about relevant abilities.

The SSN and DL are probably for credit checks and local record checks/background checks, which is probably specified in the "fine print" after that contractual statement you mentioned.

The homeowner question is weird. Could be a not-so-veiled attempt at judging stability. It's like when you apply for credit: the question "rent or own" is scored differently based on the applicant's response. Owners score higher than renters and are considered less of a credit risk. But for a job app? That one I'd have problems with. They could also be purely demographic questions, but they still seem weird.

Look up the company in the BBB and their local Chamber of Commerce. Forward the app to or call the Colorado EEOC or whatever state office is in charge of that sort of thing. Never hurts to find out.

now, if you are quite strong and lift patients with no problem, would age still be a problem?