Interview question: Do you have children?

[Jessica11480]

What is the name of your state?I live in California and was recently interviewed for a position at a title/escrow company. During the interview, I was asked if I have any children. I know that this is not a legal question to ask, and I paused when the interviewer asked it. Then I answered yes, I have a 3 year old. She then replied that the company loves children and she has 5 boys of her own. Then she went on to ask if travel was a problem.. She then concluded that I should hear back by the end of last week. I still havent heard back. What do I do now?

 

[cbg]

Nothing whatsoever. Except continue to wait.

Your basic premise - that asking about children is illegal - is incorrect. The ONLY illegal questions in an interview involve medical disability.

Parental status is not protected under either Federal or California law. Even if it were, asking the question would not be illegal - taking the answer into consideration when making the employment decision would be. At this point, it is FAR too early to assume that you have been turned down for the job, still less that you were turned down BECAUSE you have a child. But even if you were, that would not be illegal.

It is by NO means unusual for a company to take longer than they anticipate to make hiring decisions, ESPECIALLY this time of year.

 

[Jessica11480]

CBG, it states on the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing website that it is unlawful to inquire on the number and/or ages of the applicants children or dependents on an application or during an interview.

I contacted the individual who schduled the interview to check the status of the position, he advised I was not selected for the position.

Are you saying that there is nothing I can do about this?

 

[SuzieWahoozie]

What do you think you can/should do? Did the person you spoke to at the company where you interviewed say you didn't get the job because you have a child?

How can you prove you weren't hired because you have a child? That's the issue here...the onus to prove discrimination is on you. So, can you prove it?

And although the website said asking the question is illegal (it may be...I am not versed in CA law), parental status is not protected, so you cannot be "discriminated" against if you aren't even in a protected class!

If you think you were treated unjustly, by all means, call the CA Dept. of Fair Employment and Housing and file a complaint, but honestly, you're going to have a hard time proving you were rejected because you have a child, especially since the person who interviewed you claimed to have five! This is obviously not a company that is adverserial to employees with children!

Asking a question - legal or illegal - does not prove discrimination, just stupidity.

And just because you were asked a stupid question doesn't mean you weren't hired because of your answer. Maybe they had a better candidate!

 

[howamidoing]

What is the name of your state?I live in California and was recently interviewed for a position at a title/escrow company. During the interview, I was asked if I have any children. I know that this is not a legal question to ask, and I paused when the interviewer asked it. Then I answered yes, I have a 3 year old. She then replied that the company loves children and she has 5 boys of her own. Then she went on to ask if travel was a problem.. She then concluded that I should hear back by the end of last week. I still havent heard back. What do I do now?

When asked that question, if you feel it is illegal then just say, you know you cant ask me that. Or take the mature, prepared approach. Simply say yes as a matter of fact I have one child, and daycare, sicktimes have never been and will never be a problem. Most times employers aask that question, in my experience to simply break the ice. Just look for another job, it will all come out in the wash.

 

[pattytx]

Caveat here: saying "you know it is illegal to ask me that question" is not going to endear you to a potential employer. If you said that to me, I would immediately see you as a troublemaker.

However, the better way is what howami said later, i.e. yes, I do, but I have never had a problem being at work as expected and I do not expect that to effect my attendance at this job.

 

[howamidoing]

Caveat here: saying "you know it is illegal to ask me that question" is not going to endear you to a potential employer. If you said that to me, I would immediately see you as a troublemaker.

However, the better way is what howami said later, i.e. yes, I do, but I have never had a problem being at work as expected and I do not expect that to effect my attendance at this job.

That was my attempt at sarcasm, I was hoping poster would realize that. Maybe I shouldnt assume...lol...

 

[cbg]

"it states on the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing website that it is unlawful to inquire on the number and/or ages of the applicants children or dependents on an application or during an interview. "

But they didn't ask you the number or ages, did they?

 

[howamidoing]

"it states on the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing website that it is unlawful to inquire on the number and/or ages of the applicants children or dependents on an application or during an interview. "

But they didn't ask you the number or ages, did they?

NICE WORK!

 

[pattytx]

Sorry, howami, guess I missed that.

And kudos also to you cbg, good catch.

 

[GTC]

"it states on the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing website that it is unlawful to inquire on the number and/or ages of the applicants children or dependents on an application or during an interview. "

But they didn't ask you the number or ages, did they?

Would simply asking if you have kids not be a violation in the simple fact that the question assumes you have from ZERO(which is a legal number) to X number of children? Breaking Ice or not, if it's against the law, it's against the law. And as for the response of...

Asking a question - legal or illegal - does not prove discrimination, just stupidity.

Ummmm, correct me if I'm wrong, but I have seen the response of "ignorence of the law is no excuse" used here quite often. So is it a valid excuse as long as you are the employer and not the employee?

 

[SuzieWahoozie]

No one (including me) is saying ignorance of the law is an excuse to break it. What I meant is...asking the question itself is not discriminatory, as long as you don't illegally use the information received when/if the question was answered.

It remains to be seen whether or not asking the question in and of itself is illegal (I tend to lean toward cbg's interpretation that it really isn't as asked). It also remains to be seen whether you can really be "discriminated against" based on your inclusion in a class that is NOT even protected (parental status).

Keep in mind, even if the question itself is illegal, that doesn't mean you were discriminated against.

 

[cbg]

"Would simply asking if you have kids not be a violation...?"

If the state of California wanted to make it illegal to ask if you HAVE kids, they certainly had that option. But according to the wording the OP herself posted, that's not what the law prohibits - only asking the ages and numbers. Which is not what happened, again by the OP's own description.

 

[Xquizzyt1]

"Would simply asking if you have kids not be a violation...?"

If the state of California wanted to make it illegal to ask if you HAVE kids, they certainly had that option. But according to the wording the OP herself posted, that's not what the law prohibits - only asking the ages and numbers. Which is not what happened, again by the OP's own description.

Take it from an HR Professional... you are wrong CPG, it is clearly a violation to ask that question.

 

[Xquizzyt1]

I Live in NY

What is the name of your state?I live in California and was recently interviewed for a position at a title/escrow company. During the interview, I was asked if I have any children. I know that this is not a legal question to ask, and I paused when the interviewer asked it. Then I answered yes, I have a 3 year old. She then replied that the company loves children and she has 5 boys of her own. Then she went on to ask if travel was a problem.. She then concluded that I should hear back by the end of last week. I still havent heard back. What do I do now?

I'm in New York and my profession is Human Resources. I can't speak for California, but as far as NY is concerned, THAT is an illegal question, as well as age, marital status, racial background, etc... all those "icebreakers." An interview is not about breaking ice, but finding out whether or not this candidate is fit for employment at your company. Both parties are being "interviewed" simultaneously and I can safely say that if that company is violating HR laws from the beginning, you should be grateful if you do not receive a call back, because it says something about their standards.

From a Human Resources professional standpoint, questions like those are not to be tolerated, and it can be reasonably assumed that any question asked in an interview is used in determining their decision.

The way most interviewers get around the law against asking if an applicant has children is to ask what the candidate does in his/her spare time. If they have children, usually, their answer as to what they like to do in their spare time will reflect that. However, because the question is indeed a violation, it is NEVER appropriate to ask it outright.

From a legal standpoint, as far as what you should do, unfortunately, it will only be your word against the interviewer's and of course they will deny that they ever asked you that question seeing as it is more than likely an illegal one... however, as I said, take heart that you found out about the company's ethics straightaway. In a country as litigious as this one... you probably wouldn't have much of a real case.