Illegal Interview Questions

[VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN]

I have attached an Interview Question Guide that was made available to us at our College of Nursing. This is valuable, as it contains specific examples of unacceptable versus acceptable questions during interviews.

Interview Question Guidelines.pdf

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Thank you, VickyRN! Your attachment was helpful and all-inclusive!

[jjrodriguez, BSN, RN]

Thank you for the article! And thank you VickyRN for the document!I have a question regarding this. Would it be acceptable for the interviewee to disclose some of this information? For example, what if soneone is pregnant and applying for an ICU position where they may have infectious patients? Or if one's religious obligations may require a minor accomodation of some sort?

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I have a question regarding this. Would it be acceptable for the interviewee to disclose some of this information? For example, what if soneone is pregnant and applying for an ICU position where they may have infectious patients? Or if one's religious obligations may require a minor accomodation of some sort?

You can feel free to divulge personal information that is in a protected category. However, it is illegal for the interviewer to ask about it during the interview because the information might affect their decision to select you (or not).

Keep in mind that if you voluntarily disclose the need for accommodations due to pregnancy or religious services, the interviewer might reject you and hire the candidate who will not create scheduling issues later down the line due to giving birth, etc.

[Calder]

Unfortunately, sexual orientation isn't a federally protected class, so asking about it wouldn't be illegal. Some states, hospitals, cities, schools, etc., do include sexual orientation as a protected class, but not all.

If this bugs you (and it should), here is some more information, including how people can make sexual orientation a protected group. Without it an employer can literally write "gay" across someone's termination papers. http://sites.hrc.org/sites/passendanow/index.asp

[animal1953]

Thank you TheCommuter and VickRN for both of your imput regarding this subject. As a newly state certified CNA, I will be starting my job hunt in ernest. I have noticed that age has been an issue in my previous job applications (warehousing/Shipping/Receiving). Can't prove it but with over 20 years experience in the field, I couldn't land a job before switching to the medical field. It is a concern but I feel can also be a benefit to an employer, having varied life experiences under your belt. I am eager to start my new career.

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

I worked for a large company. The DON and ADON kept applications in a binder with sticky notes on them. Some of the comments for why the person wasn't going to be hired:She was weird. He looked mean. And my favorite: she was TOO black. I really wanted to ask what just the right shade of black was, but when I found the binder they had both been fired.

[hope3456, ASN, RN]

A RN told me she was told in an interview 'we don't want to hire anyone who is going to get pregnant.'Ironically it was for a OB position and this NM has 4 or 5 kids of her own. Legal or not?

Thanks 4 posting commuter.

[hope3456, ASN, RN]

A RN told me that she was told in an interview 'we really don't want to hire anyone who is going to get pregnant.'. Ironically this was for an OB unit and the NM herself has 4 kids. Legal or not?

Either way very unethical IMO.

On another note I have been hearing about a lot of health care workers lately being 'asked to resign' or 'seek other employment and then give resignation.'Are there legal implications to this? Someone said never do this b/c you are better off to get fired so you can then file unemployment or sue for wrongful termination?

[Jolie, BSN]

On another note I have been hearing about a lot of health care workers lately being 'asked to resign' or 'seek other employment and then give resignation.'Are there legal implications to this? Someone said never do this b/c you are better off to get fired so you can then file unemployment or sue for wrongful termination?

First of all, anyone can sue for anything, and sometimes people do. But suing for wrongful termination is rarely successful unless a solid case can be built that an employee's rights have been violated and/or a contract willingly breeched. Most states are employment-at-will states, meaning that either the employee or employer can break the working relationship at any time for any reason OTHER than those protected by law, such as age, religion, national origin, disability. I highlight this because many workers want to ignore that this is a 2-way street. They want to be able to punish their employer if they don't like the way they are treated, but rarely consider the way that they treat their employer and co-workers as part of the deal.

It is a commonly held belief that resigning from a position automatically renders one ineligible for unemployment compensation, while being involuntarily terminated assures one of unemployment benefits. This is an oversimplification of the truth.

When an employee willfully resigns for reasons such as returning to school, moving, staying home to provide care to a child/family member, or taking another job, the employer is usually absolved of any responsibility to provide unemployment benefits to the former employee.

When an employee is fired for gross and/or willful misconduct, the employer is usually likewise off the hook for unemployment.

Anything between (especially if there is a disagreement between employer and employee) is a gray area subject to interpretation by an unemployment judge.

So sometimes, an employee will resign, yet still be able to collect unemployment. Sometimes and employee will be involuntarily terminated, yet be unable to collect. It really depends upon the series of events leading up to the dismissal.

Was the employee beyond his/her probationary period? If there were problems with the employee's performance, were they well documented? Did the employee receive adequate training and supervision? Were there corrective actions documented? What was the employee's response to these re-teaching or re-training sessions? These are just some of the factors that an unemployment judge will consider in making a decision.

As an employer, I can assure you that we don't take lightly the decision to terminate an employee. Recruiting, interviewing and hiring is an expensive process. It is usually easier and cheaper to work with an employee, even very intensively, than it is to fire someone and start over. By the time we reach the point of dismissing an employee, we have a mound of paperwork to document the process. Unless we believe the employee to be truly dangerous, we might consider allowing that person to resign rather than be fired. Not because it will impact his/her unemployment eligibility. It won't. Our documentation will support our side in court, but because they can then truthfully answer potential employers' questions that they left the job voluntarily. I won't mislead a future employer in giving a reference, but nor do I want our experience to place a black mark on that person's applications at other jobs where s/he may be a better fit.

Make sense? Or clear as mud :)

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

So sometimes, an employee will resign, yet still be able to collect unemployment.

I can personally attest to this, since I have collected unemployment benefits twice after voluntarily resigning.

I was 18 years old and working at a fast food place during the first occurrence. One of the shift supervisors would make inappropriate, vulgar comments to me while using lots of slang and cursing. He was not a gang member, but he was fascinated with the gang culture, so he fronted with a tough-guy persona. The unemployment department decided that I resigned due to a hostile work environment, and I was awarded benefits.

I was 23 years old and had worked at a factory for three years at the time of the second occurrence. The factory was in coastal southern California, which is a very expensive place to live. I lived 120 miles away, in another part of the state with a lower cost of living. After one year of commuting, I gave up and quit the job. The unemployment judge decided I had explored all feasible options prior to resigning, and I was awarded benefits.