What Questions Are Illegal in a Job Interview?

What Questions Are Illegal in a Job Interview?

Job interviews are supposed to help an employer determine whether you are qualified for the position. But sometimes an interviewer asks a question that feels surprisingly personal.

Maybe they ask whether you have children. Maybe they want to know your age, whether you are married, what religion you practice, or whether you have a disability.

So, what questions are illegal in a job interview?

The answer is a little more complicated than simply making a list of “illegal questions.”

Federal employment law prohibits discrimination based on characteristics such as race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age 40 or older, disability, and genetic information. Because of those protections, certain interview questions are prohibited or highly problematic, while other questions may not be illegal by themselves but could be evidence of discriminatory intent.

State and local laws can provide additional protections.

Here are the questions you should know about—and what an employer can legally ask instead.

The Important Difference Between an Illegal Question and an Inappropriate Question

This distinction is important.

People often hear that employers are not allowed to ask about your age, marital status, children, religion, or where you were born.

That is an oversimplification.

Under federal law, some questions are clearly restricted. For example, an employer generally cannot ask disability-related questions before making a conditional job offer.

Other questions may not be automatically prohibited under federal law, but asking them can create evidence of discrimination or violate a state or local law.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) explains that, as a general rule, information requested during the hiring process should be limited to information necessary to determine whether an applicant is qualified for the job. Questions about characteristics such as race, sex, national origin, age, and religion generally are not relevant to determining qualifications.

So when you are evaluating an interview question, ask two separate questions:

1. Is the question itself prohibited by federal or state law?
2. Could the question be evidence that the employer is making a discriminatory hiring decision?

Those are not always the same thing.

Questions About Age

An interviewer generally should not ask questions designed to determine your age when that information is not relevant to the job.

For example:

• “How old are you?”
• “What year did you graduate from high school?”
• “When do you plan to retire?”
• “How many years do you have left before retirement?”
• “Are you old enough to work with our younger employees?”

The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) generally protects applicants and employees who are 40 or older from age discrimination.

The EEOC also warns against pre-employment inquiries that can reveal an applicant’s age when the information is not relevant to determining whether the person is qualified.

An employer may have legitimate reasons to ask whether you meet a minimum legal age requirement for a particular job.

For example, an employer could ask:

“Are you at least 18 years old?”

That is very different from asking:

“How old are you?”

The first question addresses a potential legal or job requirement. The second seeks personal information that generally is not necessary to determine whether you are qualified.

Questions About Marriage, Children, or Pregnancy

Questions about your family can seem harmless during an interview.

An interviewer might casually ask:

• “Are you married?”
• “Do you have children?”
• “How many kids do you have?”
• “How old are your children?”
• “Are you planning to have children?”
• “Are you pregnant?”
• “Who will take care of your children while you work?”
• “Does your husband or wife work?”
• “Would your spouse be okay with you traveling for work?”

These questions can be particularly problematic because they can reveal information about sex, pregnancy, family responsibilities, or marital status.

The EEOC specifically identifies questions about pregnancy, marital status, children, childcare arrangements, future childbearing plans, and a spouse’s employment as potentially problematic pre-employment inquiries.

The employer generally should focus on the actual requirements of the position.

For example, instead of asking:

“Do you have children who need childcare?”

an employer can ask:

“This position requires occasional travel. Are you able to meet that requirement?”

That question focuses on the job rather than the applicant’s family situation.

Questions About Pregnancy

An employer generally should not ask whether you are pregnant or whether you plan to become pregnant.

Examples include:

• “Are you pregnant?”
• “Are you trying to have a baby?”
• “Do you plan to have children?”
• “Are you planning to start a family soon?”
• “How many children do you want?”

Pregnancy discrimination is prohibited under federal law.

An employer can ask about legitimate job requirements, however.

For example:

“This job requires employees to travel approximately 25% of the time. Are you able to meet that requirement?”

That question applies to the job and can be asked regardless of whether the applicant is pregnant.

Questions About Religion

Employers generally should not ask applicants about their religion or religious practices when the information is not relevant to the position.

Examples include:

• “What religion are you?”
• “What church do you attend?”
• “Do you go to church?”
• “Are you Christian?”
• “Do you observe religious holidays?”
• “What days do you worship?”
• “Would you be willing to stop attending religious services if we needed you to work?”

The EEOC considers questions about an applicant’s religious affiliation or beliefs generally non-job-related and problematic under federal law, subject to limited exceptions.

An employer can, however, ask about work schedules and availability.

For example:

“This position requires employees to work Saturdays. Are you available to work Saturdays?”

That question is about the schedule rather than the applicant’s religion.

There can also be special rules for certain religious organizations and positions. Religious organizations may receive an exception concerning religion in some circumstances, so this is an area where the identity of the employer and the position can matter.

Questions About Disability or Medical Conditions

This is one of the clearest areas of federal protection.

Before making a conditional job offer, an employer generally cannot ask an applicant disability-related questions or require a medical examination.

For example, an interviewer generally cannot ask:

• “Do you have a disability?”
• “What is your medical condition?”
• “Have you ever been disabled?”
• “What medications do you take?”
• “Have you ever filed workers’ compensation?”
• “How many sick days did you take at your last job?”
• “Have you ever been hospitalized?”
• “Do you have any mental health conditions?”
• “Have you ever been treated for depression?”
• “Have you ever had surgery?”

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) generally prohibits disability-related inquiries before a conditional job offer.

But an employer can ask whether you can perform the essential functions of the job.

For example:

“This position requires lifting packages weighing up to 40 pounds. Are you able to perform that function?”

An employer can also ask an applicant to describe or demonstrate how they would perform specific job duties.

The key difference is that the employer is evaluating your ability to perform the job—not asking about your medical condition.

What About Reasonable Accommodations?

There is an important exception concerning accommodations.

If an applicant has an obvious disability or voluntarily discloses a disability, an employer may be able to ask whether the applicant needs a reasonable accommodation to participate in the application process or perform the job.

But the employer generally cannot use that as an excuse to start probing into the nature or severity of the disability.

The EEOC explains that an employer may ask about accommodation in certain circumstances, but may not ask about the nature or severity of the disability before an offer.

Questions About Race or Color

An employer generally should not ask an applicant about race or color for purposes of deciding whether to hire the person.

Examples include:

• “What race are you?”
• “What is your ethnicity?”
• “Are you Black?”
• “Are you Hispanic?”
• “What is your racial background?”

There are limited circumstances in which employers may collect demographic information for legitimate purposes such as affirmative-action or applicant-flow tracking. The EEOC recommends separating that information from the hiring decision when it is legitimately collected.

An interviewer, however, generally should not be using an applicant’s race as part of the hiring decision.

Questions About National Origin

National origin can be a particularly confusing area.

An employer generally should not use an applicant’s national origin as a basis for hiring decisions.

But asking something like:

“Where are you from?”

is not necessarily an automatically illegal question under federal law.

The problem is that questions about nationality, ancestry, birthplace, or ethnic background can sometimes be evidence of discriminatory intent.

The EEOC notes that federal law does not categorically prohibit every question about national origin, but employers should ask about national origin only when there is a lawful purpose.

A safer approach is for an employer to ask about legitimate job-related qualifications.

For example:

“This position requires fluency in Spanish. Are you fluent in Spanish?”

That focuses on a job requirement rather than the applicant’s ancestry.

“Are You a U.S. Citizen?”

This question deserves special attention.

Most employers generally should not ask an applicant whether they are a U.S. citizen before making an offer.

The EEOC explains that employers generally should not ask about citizenship before an offer because federal law already provides a process for verifying identity and employment authorization after hiring.

An employer can generally ask whether an applicant is legally authorized to work in the United States.

For example:

“Are you legally authorized to work in the United States?”

Depending on the circumstances, an employer may also ask whether the applicant will require sponsorship for employment authorization.

There are exceptions for certain jobs where citizenship is legally required.

And after hiring, employers generally use Form I-9 to verify identity and employment authorization.

Employers also cannot selectively demand particular immigration documents from applicants or employees based on perceived citizenship or national origin.

Questions About Genetic Information or Family Medical History

This is an area many applicants do not realize is protected.

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) generally prohibits employers from requesting or using genetic information in employment decisions.

Genetic information includes things such as:

• Family medical history
• Genetic test results
• Genetic testing of family members
• Certain information about genetic counseling or services

An interviewer should not ask questions such as:

“Does anyone in your family have cancer?”

or:

“Do your parents have any serious medical conditions?”

The EEOC explains that GINA generally prohibits employers from requesting genetic information from applicants, subject to narrow exceptions.

This protection is broader than simply asking whether the applicant personally has a medical condition.

Questions About Height or Weight

Height and weight are another area where the answer is more nuanced.

There is not a blanket federal rule making every question about height or weight illegal.

However, the EEOC warns that height and weight requirements can disproportionately affect certain protected groups and that, unless they are job-related, inquiries about height and weight should generally be avoided. Some states and localities have their own laws specifically addressing height and weight discrimination.

For example, asking:

“How much do you weigh?”

may be difficult to justify for an ordinary office position.

But a job may have legitimate physical requirements.

An employer can generally focus on the actual requirement:

“This position requires you to lift up to 50 pounds. Are you able to perform that job function?”

Again, the distinction is between evaluating the applicant’s ability to perform the job and collecting unnecessary personal information.

Questions About Marital Status

Federal law does not make every question about marital status automatically illegal.

But the EEOC warns that marital-status questions can be evidence of discriminatory intent, particularly because such questions have historically been used to discriminate against women.

Examples include:

• “Are you married?”
• “Are you single?”
• “Do you plan to get married?”
• “Does your spouse work?”
• “What does your husband do?”
• “What does your wife do?”

An employer generally has little legitimate reason to need this information when deciding whether you are qualified for a job.

Some states and localities provide additional protections involving marital or familial status.

Questions About Childcare

An employer generally should not ask:

“Who watches your children while you work?”

or:

“Do you have reliable childcare?”

These questions can reveal information about sex, family responsibilities, marital status, or children.

Instead, the employer should ask about the actual work requirement.

For example:

“This job begins at 6:00 a.m. Are you able to consistently work that schedule?”

That gives the employer the information it legitimately needs without requiring the applicant to disclose personal family circumstances.

Questions About Financial Problems or Credit

This is another area where online advice often gets the law wrong.

There is not a general federal rule making every question about your finances illegal during a job interview.

Federal law does not generally prohibit employers from asking about financial information.

However, employers must comply with federal discrimination laws, and other laws may apply when an employer obtains or uses consumer-report information for employment purposes. State and local laws can also restrict employment-related credit checks or financial inquiries.

For example, an employer asking:

“Have you ever filed for bankruptcy?”

is not automatically violating federal discrimination law simply by asking.

But that does not mean the employer is free to use financial information however it wants.

If a third-party consumer report is used, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) can impose additional requirements, including disclosure and authorization requirements.

So this is an area where the answer is not simply “illegal.”

Questions About Criminal History

Questions about criminal history are also more complicated than many people realize.

There is no blanket federal law that makes every criminal-history question illegal in every interview.

However, the EEOC warns that employers must not use criminal-history information in a discriminatory way. Federal anti-discrimination law can also apply when criminal-history practices disproportionately exclude people based on protected characteristics without sufficient justification.

In addition, many states and cities have laws restricting when employers may ask about criminal convictions.

Some jurisdictions have adopted “ban the box” laws that delay criminal-history questions until later in the hiring process.

So if an interviewer asks:

“Have you ever been arrested?”

or:

“Have you ever been convicted of a crime?”

the legality may depend heavily on where the job is located and exactly what the employer is asking.

This is one of the questions where state and local law matters enormously.

Questions About Salary History

Salary-history questions are another subject where you should be careful about broad statements.

There is no general federal law that makes every salary-history question illegal.

But many states and localities restrict employers from asking applicants about their prior compensation.

For example, a jurisdiction may prohibit an employer from asking:

“How much did you make at your last job?”

or:

“What was your previous salary?”

Some jurisdictions also restrict employers from relying on salary history when determining compensation.

Because these laws vary substantially by location, the correct answer depends on where the job is located.

An employer can generally ask about your salary expectations unless a state or local law imposes a different restriction.

For example:

“What salary range are you looking for?”

is different from:

“How much did your last employer pay you?”

Questions About Unemployment

Being unemployed is not itself a federally protected characteristic.

Federal law does not generally prohibit an employer from asking about periods of unemployment.

The EEOC specifically states that federal law does not prevent employers from asking about unemployment status, although employers cannot use that information in a discriminatory manner. State law may provide additional protections.

So an interviewer can generally ask:

“Can you tell me about the gap in your employment history?”

That is very different from asking a question designed to reveal a protected characteristic.

If you have an employment gap, you generally do not need to disclose private medical, family, or other protected information to explain it.

You can keep your answer focused on what you did during the period and what you are looking for now.

Questions About Religious Organizations, Clubs, or Associations

An interviewer may sometimes ask about organizations or activities that indirectly reveal protected information.

For example:

“What church do you attend?”

or:

“What religious organizations are you involved with?”

These questions can reveal religion.

The EEOC recommends avoiding questions about organizations, clubs, societies, or lodges when the answers could reveal protected characteristics such as race, sex, national origin, disability, age, religion, color, or ancestry.

That does not mean employers can never ask about organizations.

An employer can generally ask about professional organizations or activities when the question is relevant to the applicant’s qualifications.

For example:

“Are you a member of any professional accounting organizations?”

is very different from asking about someone’s religious organization.

What Questions Can an Employer Legally Ask?

There are plenty of questions an employer can ask.

The safest questions are generally focused on the job, your qualifications, and your ability to perform the work.

Examples include:

• “Tell me about your previous experience.”
• “What interests you about this position?”
• “What experience do you have with this software?”
• “What certifications do you hold?”
• “Can you perform the essential functions of this position?”
• “This position requires occasional travel. Are you able to travel?”
• “This job requires working weekends. Are you available to work weekends?”
• “This position requires lifting up to 40 pounds. Can you perform that job function?”
• “What is your availability?”
• “What are your salary expectations?”
• “Why are you interested in leaving your current position?”

The basic principle is simple:

An employer generally should be asking whether you can do the job—not collecting personal information that has nothing to do with your qualifications.

What If an Interviewer Asks an Illegal or Inappropriate Question?

You may be caught off guard. That is completely understandable. You do not have to turn an interview into a legal argument.

If an interviewer asks:

“Do you have children?”

you could simply redirect the conversation:

“I can meet the scheduling requirements of the position. Could you tell me more about the schedule?”

If the interviewer asks:

“Are you planning to have children?”

you could say:

“I’m fully able to meet the responsibilities and schedule required for this position.”

If the interviewer asks:

“Do you have any medical conditions?”

you could respond:

“I’m able to perform the essential functions of the position. Is there a particular job requirement you’d like to discuss?”

You are not necessarily required to educate the interviewer about employment law during the interview.

Your priority may simply be getting through the interview and deciding afterward whether the question raises a legal concern.

What Should You Do If an Employer Asks an Illegal Interview Question?

Being asked an inappropriate interview question can catch you completely off guard. You may know the question feels wrong, but you may also be worried that refusing to answer could hurt your chances of getting the job.

You generally do not have to turn the interview into a confrontation. In many situations, the simplest approach is to politely redirect the conversation back to your qualifications and ability to do the job.

For example, if an interviewer asks:

“Do you have children?”

you could respond:

“I’m able to meet the schedule and responsibilities of this position.”

If they ask:

“Are you planning to have children?”

you could say:

“I’m fully able to meet the requirements of the position. I’d be happy to talk more about the responsibilities of the job.”

If they ask about a medical condition, you could respond:

“I’m able to perform the essential functions of the position. Is there a particular job requirement you’d like to discuss?”

If they ask your age, you could redirect the question by saying:

“I have extensive experience in this field and meet all of the qualifications listed for the position.”

You can also simply ask:

“Could you tell me how that relates to the requirements of the position?”

That gives the interviewer an opportunity to explain why they asked without requiring you to disclose personal information.

Do You Have to Refuse to Answer?

No. There is no requirement that you give a dramatic refusal or announce that the question is illegal.

You may choose to answer, redirect the question, ask why the information is relevant, or decline to answer.

Your response may depend on the circumstances.

For example, if an interviewer casually asks whether you have children, you might simply say:

“I’d prefer to keep my family life private, but I can absolutely meet the schedule required for this position.”

You can then move the conversation back to your qualifications.

The important thing is that answering an inappropriate question does not automatically mean you have given up your legal rights.

If you are uncomfortable answering, you are allowed to protect your privacy.

Consider Writing Down What Happened

If an interview question concerns a protected characteristic—or the interviewer makes a comment that seems discriminatory—write down what happened as soon as possible.

Record:

• The date and time of the interview
• The interviewer’s name and position
• The exact question, as closely as you can remember it
• Your response
• Any follow-up comments
• Who else was present
• Whether the interviewer appeared concerned about your answer
• What happened afterward

For example, there is a meaningful difference between an interviewer asking:

“Do you have children?”

and then immediately moving on, versus asking:

“Do you have children? This job has long hours, and we’ve had problems with working mothers being unreliable.”

The second situation provides considerably more context about why the question may have been asked.

Documentation can become particularly important if the interview is followed by a rejection or another decision that you believe may have been discriminatory.

What If You Think the Question Affected the Hiring Decision?

An inappropriate question does not automatically prove that an employer discriminated against you.

Employers can lawfully reject applicants for many reasons.

But if a question about a protected characteristic is followed by a discriminatory comment, a sudden change in the interview, or a hiring decision that appears connected to the information you disclosed, the circumstances may warrant closer attention.

Keep your interview notes and relevant communications.

You may also want to compare what happened with the requirements of federal, state, and local law. The rules can vary depending on where the job is located and what type of employer is involved.

If you believe you were denied employment because of a protected characteristic, you may be able to contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or an applicable state or local fair-employment agency.

You Don’t Have to Decide What to Do Immediately

If you leave an interview thinking, “Was that even legal?” you do not necessarily have to make a decision on the spot.

Take some time to write down what happened while you remember the details.

Then look at the entire situation—not just the individual question.

Consider:

• What exactly was asked?
• Was the information related to an actual job requirement?
• Did the question reveal a protected characteristic?
• Did the interviewer make any additional comments?
• Did the employer treat you differently afterward?
• Did you receive a rejection?
• Does your state or local law provide additional protections?

The surrounding circumstances can matter just as much as the question itself.

And remember: you are allowed to decide that a company asking overly personal questions is not a company you want to work for.

An interview is not only an opportunity for an employer to evaluate you. It is also an opportunity for you to evaluate the employer.

What If You Answered the Question?

You may be worried that you made a mistake by answering.

You didn’t necessarily give up your rights.

If an interviewer asks an inappropriate question and you answer it, that does not automatically make discrimination legal.

For example, if an employer asks whether you have children and you answer honestly, the employer still cannot lawfully discriminate against you based on sex or another protected characteristic.

The bigger question is what the employer does with the information.

If you believe the question was connected to a discriminatory hiring decision, document what happened while the details are still fresh.

Write down:

• The exact question
• Who asked it
• When it was asked
• Who else was present
• How you answered
• Any follow-up questions
• Anything the interviewer said afterward
• What happened with your application

Keep copies of emails or other communications related to the interview.

What If You Were Rejected After Being Asked a Suspicious Question?

Being rejected after an interview does not automatically mean the employer discriminated against you.

Employers can reject applicants for many lawful reasons.

But the combination of a suspicious question and a hiring decision can sometimes be important.

For example, suppose an interviewer asks:

“How old are you?”

You say that you are 58.

The interviewer then comments:

“We’re really looking for someone earlier in their career.”

You are rejected despite having substantially more experience than the job requires.

That does not automatically prove age discrimination, but the question and comment could be relevant evidence.

Similarly, an interviewer who asks whether you have children and then says:

“This job is really demanding. I’m not sure how a mother could handle it.”

has created a much more significant concern.

Context matters.

Are Employers Allowed to Ask Questions About Protected Characteristics at All?

This is where the law becomes especially nuanced.

It is tempting to say:

“Employers can never ask about protected characteristics.”

That is too broad.

The law contains exceptions, defenses, legitimate job requirements, and special rules for particular employers and occupations.

For example:

• Some jobs have legitimate age requirements.
• Some jobs have legally required physical qualifications.
• Some positions may have citizenship requirements.
• Certain religious organizations have special protections concerning religion.
• Employers can ask whether applicants can perform essential job functions.
• Employers can ask about legitimate work schedules and availability.
• Employers can conduct certain post-offer medical inquiries under the ADA.
• Employers can collect certain demographic information for legitimate purposes when it is appropriately separated from hiring decisions.

The safest general rule is therefore not “never ask about X.”

It is:

Do not ask applicants for protected personal information unless there is a legitimate, lawful reason to obtain it.

What Changes After a Conditional Job Offer?

The rules concerning medical and disability-related information change after a conditional job offer.

Before an offer, the ADA generally prohibits disability-related questions and medical examinations.

After a conditional offer, an employer can generally make disability-related inquiries or require a medical examination, provided the employer does so consistently for everyone entering the same job category.

That does not mean an employer can use medical information however it wants.

The ADA places restrictions on how medical information is handled and used.

GINA also continues to restrict employers from requesting genetic information, including family medical history, except in narrow circumstances.

This is why the timing of a question matters.

A question that would be unlawful before an offer may be permissible after a conditional offer under the ADA, provided the employer follows the applicable requirements.

Federal Law Is Only Part of the Picture

If you are researching whether an interview question was legal, don’t stop with federal law.

State and local laws can provide additional protections.

Depending on where you work, there may be laws concerning:

• Salary-history questions
• Criminal-history questions
• Marital status
• Family responsibilities
• Height and weight
• Credit checks
• Unemployment status
• Social media screening
• Cannabis or other lawful off-duty conduct
• Additional protected characteristics

This is why two applicants can be asked the same question in different states and receive different legal answers.

The Bottom Line: What Questions Are Illegal in a Job Interview?

There is no single list of questions that is illegal in every interview across the United States.

But employers need to be extremely careful when asking about protected characteristics or information that could reveal them.

Federal law places particularly important restrictions on pre-offer questions involving:

• Disability and medical conditions
• Genetic information and family medical history
• Pregnancy and sex-related information
• Religion
• Race and color
• National origin
• Age
• Citizenship and employment authorization

Some questions are directly prohibited in particular circumstances. Others may be evidence of discriminatory intent rather than automatically illegal on their own. And state and local laws can impose additional restrictions.

If an interviewer asks you something that feels unusually personal, you do not necessarily need to panic or immediately assume the interview was unlawful.

Instead, consider:

1. What exactly did the interviewer ask?
2. Was the question related to an actual job requirement?
3. Did the question reveal a protected characteristic?
4. Was the question asked before or after a conditional job offer?
5. Where is the job located?
6. Did the interviewer make any additional comments?
7. Was the information later used in a hiring decision?

Those details can make a significant difference.

An interview should generally be about whether you can do the job—not whether you are married, whether you have children, what religion you practice, what medical conditions you have, or how old you are.

And when an employer crosses that line, knowing what the law actually says can help you understand whether you encountered an awkward interview question, a questionable hiring practice, or a potentially unlawful employment decision.

Related Articles

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• Can Employers See Every Job You’ve Ever Had? — Understand what employers may learn about your employment history during the hiring process.
• Can You Lie on a Job Application? — Learn what can happen when information on an application is inaccurate or misleading.
• Questions to Ask During a Job Interview (With Examples That Help You Stand Out) — Questions you can ask an employer while you’re interviewing.
• How to Prepare for a Job Interview: The Complete Guide to Interview Success — Practical preparation tips before your next interview.

For more information about hiring and interview issues, visit our Hiring & Careers resources.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about employment law and is not legal advice. Employment laws vary by state, locality, employer, occupation, and individual circumstances. Federal law may provide a baseline of protection, while state and local laws may provide additional rights or restrictions. Laws can change, and the application of a law to a particular interview or hiring decision depends on the specific facts. If you believe an employer may have violated your rights, consider consulting a qualified employment attorney or the appropriate government agency.

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Article: What Questions Are Illegal in a Job Interview?