Inappropriate Questions and How to Deal with Them

In 1996, the AAMC Medical Student Graduation Questionnaire reported that 45% of students were asked about marital status or family planning during residency interviews. In 1993, the Bioethics Task Force of the American Medical Student Association found that over half of the residency applicants’ were asked questions that they felt were “inappropriate, uncomfortable, or possibly discriminatory.” Health care professionals in any field may encounter illegal interview questions when they are interviewing for jobs. Let’s begin by looking at a few examples with a bit of humor from Jerome Tatar, an employment attorney based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Question asked:

Are you planning on getting pregnant in the next few years?

What is your religion?

What is your date of birth?

What country were you born in?

What is the nature of your disability?

Answer You Are Thinking:

Possibly, but you won’t be any part of those plans.

Right now, I am just praying that you won’t be my direct supervisor.

I’m old enough to know better than to ask a stupid question like that.

One in which the citizens are more civilized than you.

Whatever it is, I can do my job better than you do yours.

What You Say:

I’ll have no problem being at work or performing any other function of the job.

I will be able to work weekends and most every business day.

I can provide proof that I am over 18.

I can provide proof of my eligibility to work in the U.S.

I can perform the functions of the job with a reasonable accommodation.

According to Art Bell, PhD in Update on Legal and Illegal Interview Questions, the rules and regulations for which questions are lawful or unlawful vary across federal, state, and local agencies. In short, there is no single agency that defines which questions are legal in all situations. Nevertheless, there are some legal questions that you should be aware of. These include:

• Are you 18 years of age or older?
• Can you verify your legal right to work in the U.S.?
• Have you ever been convicted of a felony crime?
• Are you fluent in spoken and written English?
• Can you perform the functions of this job with reasonable accommodations?

Even without asking illegal questions, most employers can find ways to get at the information they want by asking questions indirectly. For example, an interviewer may reframe questions like, “Are you pregnant?” or “What is the nature of your disability?” by asking if a candidate is capable of performing certain duties such as lifting and moving patients. Instead of asking “What religion are you?” or “Do you have children?” an employer may redirect the question to those about scheduling, for example, “Do you have any responsibilities or commitments that will prevent you from working all shifts?”

How to Respond to Inappropriate Questions
First, don’t jump to conclusions about the employer, and don’t overreact. Realize that not all interviewers who ask these types of sensitive questions intend to discriminate. Some employers may just be trying to break the ice and get to you better, and they may be sincerely interested in learning more about you as a person.

If you encounter an illegal question during an interview, quickly evaluate how the situation feels to you:

• What do you feel the interviewer’s motives are in asking the question?

For instance, if you are asked about your ethnic background, is this because the hospital has a lot of patients of a certain ethnicity, or is it because the interviewer holds a prejudice against this ethnic group?

• How interested are you in the job?

If you really want this job, responding with a statement such as “I don’t understand what his has to do with the job being offered” will likely disqualify you for the job. At the same time, consider what it would be like to work for someone who has issues with diversity. If there are prejudices against working mothers or people of a particular background in this organization, would you really want to work there?

One good way to deal with inappropriate questions is to redirect the question and calmly answer by describing your skills, assets, and commitment to your career. Let’s say an interviewer asks you about your children. You can respond by saying, “My family life has never interfered with my ability to do my job well. I have clear boundaries between my work and family life and am deeply committed to my career.”

1. ___ How old are you?

2. ___ Can you show proof of your eligibility to work in this country?

3. ___ Do you plan to have children?

4. ___ Do you have any commitments that will prevent you from working all shifts?

5. ___ Have you ever been convicted of a criminal offense for which you haven’t been pardoned?

6. ___ Are you married?

7. ___ What country you from?

a. Do you expect any absences from work on a regular basis?

b. Where were you born?

c. What is your birth date?

d. Who do you live with?

e. Are you planning on getting pregnant in the near future?

f. Do you have any felonies on your criminal record?

g. Do you have the legal right to work in the U.S.?