Questions they cannot ask you in an interview

Where the line is

The line is simple: they can ask about your ability to do the job, not about who you are. Asking whether you can lift 50 pounds is fine; asking whether you are pregnant is not. Asking whether you can work Saturdays is fine; asking about your religion is not.

Many of these questions come from small talk rather than bad intent. That does not make them legal: if the answer is used to decide, it is discrimination under Act 100, Act 44 or federal law.

• Age, date of birth or high school graduation year
• Pregnancy, plans to have children or childcare arrangements
• Marital status and who you live with
• Religion and which church you attend
• Medical diagnoses, medications or sick days used
• Political affiliation and who you voted for
• National origin, parents' citizenship or accent
• Arrests that did not result in a conviction

How to answer without losing the job

You have three options and all three are reasonable. You can answer if it does not bother you. You can redirect to the real concern behind the question: to "do you have small children?" you answer "my availability is full Monday through Friday and I can cover Saturdays with notice." Or you can ask back, calmly: "how does that relate to the role?"

Redirecting works best in practice, because it answers what the interviewer actually worries about without handing over information they are not entitled to, and the interview moves on.

If the question decided the hire

Write down what happened the same day: the exact question, who asked it, the date, the time and the position. Memory decays fast, and that day's note is worth far more than a recollection three months later.

Then you can go to the Anti-Discrimination Unit of the Department of Labor or to the EEOC. Deadlines are short and run from the incident, so get advice early even if you have not decided whether to file.