Is this employer interview discrimination?

[McNulty]

Jurisdiction

Massachusetts

The interview was going extremely well based on professional competencies and capabilities, up until personal questions about my family background came up. I was asked: where does my father work, what exactly does he do, and what my siblings do for a living. Again, interview went well until we reached this point, among other personal questions that were asked. Curveball here is that the hiring manager was asked to sit in on the interview, too, whom I could tell was surprised by what had just transpired. Lastly, previous interviewers all gave me the thumbs up. Is there a legitimate lawsuit here?

 

[army judge]

The interview was going extremely well based on professional competencies and capabilities, up until personal questions about my family background came up. I was asked: where does my father work, what exactly does he do, and what my siblings do for a living. Again, interview went well until we reached this point, among other personal questions that were asked. Curveball here is that the hiring manager was asked to sit in on the interview, too, whom I could tell was surprised by what had just transpired. Lastly, previous interviewers all gave me the thumbs up. Is there a legitimate lawsuit here?

Possibly.....

To know for sure, I suggest you discuss your concerns with a MA licensed employment or labor relations attorney.

Prior to meeting with any lawyer, it would be wise to memorialize the meeting by reducing as much as you recall to writing.

Good luck.

 

[Betty3]

Some questions employers ask may seem inappropriate but they are not illegal. Based just on the limited information you posted, it is hard to say if you have a case. You can discuss with an employment lawyer.

 

[cbg]

At face value, there is no illegal discrimination here. It is not possible with the available facts to say for certain.

 

[ElleMD]

Three is nothing illegal about the questions themselves. It is a fallacy that questions aside from certain medical ones are outright illegal and you can sue just because they were asked. Your only recourse would be if the answers to those questions revealed some otherwise unknown legally protected characteristic (religion, ethnicity, race, disability, etc.) and that information was used to discriminate against you. That is the part which would be illegal, not asking the employment status of your family members. It is odd that it would come up in an interview, but there is nothing prohibiting it.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

A very well known interview was that of Dez Bryant, wide receiver and NFL football star. Out of college he was asked during an interview by Miami Dolphins GM, Jeff Ireland, about whether his mother was a prostitute. While one can say there are publicity issues that teams may want to avoid, this one borders on the very highly questionable for a variety of reasons. It's not surprising that an apology and not a discrimination lawsuit was what resulted. In order to prove employment discrimination, you need to show that you were a member of a suspect class that resulted in discrimination. Are others asked these questions or were you attempted to be screened out because of race, color or creed? That doesn't appear to be in issue.

 

[McNulty]

Three is nothing illegal about the questions themselves. It is a fallacy that questions aside from certain medical ones are outright illegal and you can sue just because they were asked. Your only recourse would be if the answers to those questions revealed some otherwise unknown legally protected characteristic (religion, ethnicity, race, disability, etc.) and that information was used to discriminate against you. That is the part which would be illegal, not asking the employment status of your family members. It is odd that it would come up in an interview, but there is nothing prohibiting it.

Wouldn't questions about my family's profession background reveal socioeconomic status? Or is that not a legally protected characteristic?

 

[McNulty]

A very well known interview was that of Dez Bryant, wide receiver and NFL football star. Out of college he was asked during an interview by Miami Dolphins GM, Jeff Ireland, about whether his mother was a prostitute. While one can say there are publicity issues that teams may want to avoid, this one borders on the very highly questionable for a variety of reasons. It's not surprising that an apology and not a discrimination lawsuit was what resulted. In order to prove employment discrimination, you need to show that you were a member of a suspect class that resulted in discrimination. Are others asked these questions or were you attempted to be screened out because of race, color or creed? That doesn't appear to be in issue.

Not sure if others were asked similar questions, interviewer is new to the executive leadership team. I believe that the questions revealed my socioeconomic background, which may have played a part in me being screened out.

 

[cbg]

Socioeconomic status is not a characteristic protected by law, no.

 

[Betty3]

Asking such a question about socioeconomic status in & of itself is not illegal. They just can't ask it & use the answer to discriminate against you for being a member of a protected class (ie religion, race, gender.......).

 

[ElleMD]

Socio-economic standing is not protected. I do not know why that would matter, but even if that were the reason you were not selected, it does not violate any laws. The only reason not to ask would be that it isn't terribly relevant in most cases to your suitability for the position. Sometimes it is, such as when you have a family member who works in the same field (if you grew up with parents and siblings who were cops/lawyers/teachers/nurses/etc., you might be better prepared as to the nature and demands of the job). It could be that there are concerns about conflict of interest (family member who works in R & D for a competitor, etc.). Or, it could just be building rapport and making small talk. Asking about ones' family is a common topic for both.