Posted by Andrew DeFaria on 01/10/06 19:34

Tim Roberts wrote:

> Andrew DeFaria <Andrew@DeFaria.com> wrote:
>
>> Tim Roberts wrote:
>>
>>> In order to prevent even the implication that the company might use
>>> that information to decide whether to offer you a job, most
>>> companies no longer even ask.
>>
>> They may do that however the claim that it is illegal even to ask has
>> already been refuted.
>
> You are talking about an awfully fine distinction

No I'm not. The line is is it illegal or not to ask for marital status
on a job application. The answer is "No it's not illegal"..

> -- one that could easily land you (as an employer) in court.

Again, one doesn't need a fine line or anything else for that matter to
find themselves at the end of lawsuit.

Look, might it be prudent to avoid the issue altogether? It might. It
depends on your level of paranoia. Not everybody is as paranoid as you.

> It is illegal in the US to base a hiring decision on a person's
> marital status.

That's not the issue here. The issue as stated was that it was also
illegal to ask. It ain't.

> Thus, there is no legal reason to ask for that information on an
> employment application.

One need not have a legal reason to ask questions on a job application.
Hell I'd say most questions you are asking on a job application have
little to do with legalities or law unless you're hiring a lawyer!

> Merely ASKING the question, and then denying the applicant a job, is
> quite sufficient grounds to open an Equal Opportunity Employment
> investigation.

Again (sound like a broken record here but some people just don't seem
to get it) - you do not need such to open suit against a person. You can
sue for any reason whatsoever! Whether or not you'll win is another
matter. If the employer doesn't discriminate based on marital status
then that is the best they can do. Removing the question from the job
application will not guarantee that nobody will ever attempt to sue you
for it.

And again, regardless, the assertion was that it was illegal - it ain't.
Why belabor the point?

> The State of Washington, as one example that popped up in an Internet
> search, classifies questions about race, color, and marital status as
> "unfair preemployment inquiries".

The State of Washington is about the most pussified state in the nation.
Nothing but a bunch of vaginas running the shop up there. I'm hardly
surprised.

> In Canada, it *IS* illegal for a prospective employer to ask your
> marital status, sexual orientation, race, or age, or to request a photo.

But we are not talking about Canada, or at least I wasn't (and they are
right up there in the pussification level with Washington state).

> And, by the way, the original claim has not been "refuted". An
> unsubstantiated claim has had an unsubstantiated response. This whole
> discussion is about as reliable and trustworthy as the CIA.

The claim that I was refuting was indeed that having a question about
marital status is illegal. It's not here in the US which was all I was
talking about. If you wish to assert that that is not true then please
cite the statue - otherwise it's refuted.
--
The 2 most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.

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