Before proceeding, please review the  legal disclaimer.

Questions Employers Can’t Legally Ask You During a Job Interview

Job interviews are meant to evaluate whether a candidate is qualified for a role. Employers should focus on your skills, experience, and ability to perform the job.

However, some interview questions cross the line and may violate employment discrimination laws. Questions about personal characteristics unrelated to job performance can raise serious legal concerns.

Understanding what employers cannot legally ask can help job applicants recognize inappropriate interview practices and protect their rights.

Why Certain Interview Questions Are Illegal

Federal employment laws prohibit discrimination based on protected characteristics. These laws apply not only to employment decisions but also to the hiring process.

Employers generally cannot make hiring decisions based on factors such as:

• Race

• Color

• Religion

• National origin

• Sex or gender

• Pregnancy

• Age (40 or older)

• Disability

• Genetic information

Because of this, questions designed to reveal these characteristics may be inappropriate or unlawful during interviews.

Questions About Age

Employers typically should not ask questions that directly reveal an applicant’s age.

Examples of problematic questions include:

• “How old are you?”

• “What year did you graduate high school?”

• “When do you plan to retire?”

Employers may verify that a candidate meets minimum legal working age requirements, but probing for specific age information can raise discrimination concerns.

Questions About Marital Status or Family Plans

Questions about family life can also be problematic because they may be used to discriminate based on gender or caregiving responsibilities.

Examples include:

• “Are you married?”

• “Do you have children?”

• “Are you planning to start a family?”

• “Who will take care of your kids if you work late?”

Instead, employers should focus on whether the candidate can meet scheduling requirements.

Questions About Religion

Employers generally cannot ask about religious beliefs or practices.

Examples of inappropriate questions include:

• “What religion do you practice?”

• “Do you attend church regularly?”

• “What religious holidays do you observe?”

Employers may discuss scheduling expectations, but questions about religion itself are usually inappropriate.

Questions About National Origin or Citizenship

Questions that reveal a candidate’s nationality or immigration background can also create legal issues.

Examples include:

• “Where were you born?”

• “What country are your parents from?”

• “What is your native language?”

Employers are allowed to confirm whether a candidate is legally authorized to work in the United States, but they should not ask questions that target nationality.

Questions About Disability or Medical Conditions

Before making a job offer, employers generally cannot ask about disabilities or medical conditions.

Examples of improper questions include:

• “Do you have any health problems?”

• “Have you ever been hospitalized?”

• “Do you take prescription medications?”

Instead, employers can ask whether the candidate can perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation.

Questions About Arrest Records

Employers may sometimes ask about criminal convictions, depending on local laws, but questions about arrest records can be problematic because arrests do not prove wrongdoing.

Certain states and cities also have “ban-the-box” laws limiting when criminal history questions can be asked.

Questions About Genetic Information

Federal law prohibits employers from asking about genetic information, including family medical history.

Examples include:

• “Does your family have a history of certain diseases?”

• “Have you had genetic testing?”

These questions are generally unrelated to job qualifications and can violate federal law.

What Employers Can Ask

Employers are allowed to ask questions that relate directly to job performance.

Examples of appropriate questions include:

• Your work experience

• Your education and qualifications

• Your availability to work certain hours

• Your ability to perform job duties

• Your skills related to the role

The key rule is that interview questions must focus on job-related qualifications rather than personal characteristics.

What Job Applicants Should Do

If an employer asks an inappropriate question during an interview, applicants have several options.

They may:

• Politely redirect the conversation toward job qualifications

• Decline to answer the question

• Ask how the question relates to the job

• Document the interaction if it raises concerns

Sometimes inappropriate questions are asked out of ignorance rather than malicious intent, but patterns of such questions may signal potential discrimination.

Final Takeaway

Job interviews should evaluate a candidate’s ability to perform the job—not personal details unrelated to the role. Questions about age, family plans, religion, disability, or nationality may raise legal concerns under employment discrimination laws.

By understanding what employers cannot legally ask, job applicants can better recognize inappropriate interview practices and ensure that hiring decisions remain focused on skills, experience, and qualifications.