![\"Illegal](\"https:\/\/media.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Legal-and-Illegal-Sales-Interview-Questions.jpg?strip=all\" "\\"Interview")
Your team has found what look like some great candidates for your open sales position. You have planned your interview questions to help filter out the mediocre and find the top performers. You have reviewed your compensation package and are certain it is competitive. You feel you are ready to hire the company\u2019s next super star. STOP.<\/p>\n
Before you sit down at your desk to interview candidates, make a stop at HR, or you may be risking a law suit. Many questions that seem innocuous can land you in legal hot water, and the laws may have shifted without your realization. It is part of HR\u2019s job to keep up on changes in employment law, so be sure you ask them to review your intended questions before sitting down with candidates.<\/p>\n
Here are some questions and issues you may want to discuss with HR or your organization\u2019s legal department before diving into your interview process:<\/p>\n
Age:<\/strong> Most sales managers are aware they should not ask directly about age, but may not be aware they can violate age discrimination laws with offhand comments that may indirectly ask the candidate to expound upon or reveal their age.<\/p>\n Gender-specific questions and questions about marital status and family:<\/strong> It is illegal to discriminate based on gender. It is crucial that you don\u2019t ask any question that could be interpreted to be digging for information about the candidate\u2019s marital status, spouse or children.<\/p>\n Sexual orientation:<\/strong> Questions about sexual orientation are illegal in California and some other places. There is no reason to inquire about this at all.<\/p>\n Country of origin:<\/strong> It is illegal to discriminate based on country of origin. You cannot ask about nationality or native tongue, but you can ask candidates to verify they can work legally in the country. You can also ask what languages they can speak or write fluently \u2013 if that is critical to the job. HR should have attorney-approved forms regarding legal-to-work verification. It is best just to let HR verify these forms and supporting documentation.<\/p>\n Ethnicity and race:<\/strong> It is illegal to inquire about either ethnicity or race, even if comments or questions seem complimentary.<\/p>\n Religion:<\/strong> Don\u2019t ask about religion with the reasoning that you are trying to find out what holidays the candidate will want to take off or for any other reason.<\/p>\n Disability:<\/strong> You cannot ask a question that would cause the candidate to tell you about a health issue or disability.<\/p>\n Physical attributes:<\/strong> You cannot comment on height, weight or other physical attributes.<\/p>\n Affiliations:<\/strong> It is illegal to ask generally about clubs and affiliations.<\/p>\n Military status:<\/strong> It is best to just avoid any comment on their military background.<\/p>\n Arrests:<\/strong> It is illegal to ask if a person has ever been arrested, because someone could have been arrested and then exonerated.<\/p>\n Financial information:<\/strong> It is illegal to ask if a candidate has ever declared bankruptcy, but it is legal to run a credit check.<\/p>\n Special Note on asking about earnings:<\/strong> It is a common practice to evaluate a sales person\u2019s level of success by looking a their history of commission earnings and in most jurisdictions it is legal to ask a candidate to prove their income in one way or another.\u00a0Once you have had your interview questions sanctioned by the HR department, if you need to deviate a bit during the interview, stick to the straight and narrow and only ask obviously job-related questions. If there is any doubt at all about the legality of a question, don\u2019t ask it. An off-hand comment can cost the company a lawsuit.<\/p>\n *CAVEAT<\/strong>: This blog does not give legal advice, but here are some questions and issues you may want to discuss with HR or your company\u2019s legal department. Questions labeled as \u201cillegal\u201d and \u201clegal\u201d should be checked with your HR department or attorney. Examples are based on U.S. and Canadian law, but U.S. and Canadian law differ (from each other and other countries), as do laws from state to state in the U.S. Please check with your HR department or attorney regarding the issues raised in this blog post and how they apply to your company.<\/strong><\/p>\n Sources<\/strong> Image courtesy of\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Naypong\u00a0| FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/p>\n relpost-thumb-wrapper <\/p>\n\n
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\n8 Interview Questions You Should Never Ask<\/a>, Inc.
\n13 Questions to Avoid During a Job Interview<\/a>, Entrepreneur
\nDiscrimination during a Job Interview<\/a>, Lawyers.com
\nInterview Questions: Legal vs. Illegal<\/a>, Canada Human Resources Centre<\/p>\n
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