Guidelines for Interviews

Dear Church Leader,

Dan Shogren is a friend, member of our church, and former team member of the INJOY staff. Dan has been in the HR field for most of the last thirty years, including several as an Executive Recruiter. He is a CPA and a SPHR - Senior Professional in HR (or the HR field's equivalent of a CPA). He is currently a trainer and consultant in the areas of leadership, team building, and personal relationships. You can learn more about Dan and read some of his other articles at his website www.leadingvalues.com.

Blessings,

 

 

Dan Shogren read my most recent article and offered to add his expertise to further enhance your ministry. Candidly, I do lead largely through intuition and experience in the interviewing process. Dan can help us with technically correct information based on years of training and experience. So, I eagerly accepted his offer and the following is his work. Read on.
- Dan Reiland

The basic rule of interviewing:

The guiding principle behind any question to a job applicant is to ask only questions related to the job or work involved. If it's not job-related, don't ask! If you're wondering, "Can I ask if they've ever been arrested? If they have a high school diploma? If they're married?", then you're probably asking the wrong questions.

What qualifies as a questionable question?

For purposes of this article, let's run right on past arcane interview questions like, "If you could be any animal, what would it be?", or "What kind of car best describes you?" There's no doubt these are frivolous questions, but they aren't likely to get you into much trouble. The questions I'm concerned with are the ones that run afoul of federal and state employment laws.

Interestingly enough, federal employment laws don't specifically prohibit any particular pre-employment questions. But, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) does look unkindly on any questions about age, color, disability, national origin, race, religion, gender or veteran status. In addition, many state fair employment laws do expressly forbid certain types of questions.

Ultimately, it's not the questions themselves that are illegal--it's what you do with the responses that can get you into trouble, which is why I recommend you avoid asking them in the first place. The EEOC is generally concerned with interview questions that, if used in making a selection decision, have a discriminatory effect by screening out minority applicants, female candidates, older applicants, individuals with disabilities, etc., for a particular job.

Problem areas

Here are the question areas that cause the most problems.

Age:

Generally speaking you aren't supposed to know the age of the applicant until they are hired. Don't get cute and think that you can ask apparently unrelated questions, such as, "When did you graduate from high school?" The courts know this trick, too and you'll just wind up in more trouble because of your apparent deviousness.

In the pre-employment process, you can ask, "If hired, can you submit proof of age?" Or you might make a statement that age will be subject to verification at the time of hire. And you can ask if an applicant is under the age of 18.

National Origin and Citizenship:

While it might be interesting to compare genealogy notes, the more you know about the candidate's national origin, the more likely you are to get into trouble. You should not ask:

      • Are you a U.S. citizen?
      • What country did your family come from?
      • How long have you or your family been in this country?

You may, however, ask what languages the applicant speaks fluently, or is able to read or write proficiently on the presumption that this might be bona fide job-related factor. You should not, however, ask how they came to learn to read, write, or speak that language.

You not only can ask, you should ask, "Are you legally eligible for employment in the U.S.?" I always try to ask this question early in the interviewing process. I also think it is wise to include a statement in the formal offer letter that employment is contingent on providing satisfactory proof of eligibility to work in the U.S.

Family status:

While some employers see families as signs of stability, other employers see families and children as potential attendance and reliability problems for job candidates. As a result, questions on marital status, numbers of children, child care arrangements, etc. are generally considered inappropriate.

A couple of Dan's questions get into this danger zone. Questions such as the following are problematic:

      • Is your marriage positive, fulfilling, and growing?
      • Is your spouse supportive of you and your ministry?

I can hear a number of you grumbling about this right now. You're no doubt thinking that you're hiring the spouse as well and that the spouse will be an integral part of the team. But there's no doubt a disgruntled job applicant could find any number of your staff (including pastors!) that would have to honestly answer "no" to either or both of these questions – and yet they are able to perform their jobs effectively. And let's not forget the possibility of an unmarried staff person who performs his or her job well. As a result, any employer would be hard pressed to argue in court that these two questions are job-related.

Health and physical condition:

Any broad questions that result in the disclosure of information about health and disabilities are considered discriminatory. The following are examples of questions that may not be asked either on an application or during an interview:

      • Is there any health-related reason you may not be able to perform the job for which you are applying?
      • How many days were you absent from work because of illness last year?
      • Do you have any disabilities or impairments that may affect your performance in the position for which you are applying?
      • Have you ever been treated for drug addiction or alcoholism?

Of course, employers must be able to find out whether or not an individual is qualified for a position, but the focus should be on the applicant's ability to perform the job, not on any specific disability they may have. Here's how to handle this sensitive area:

      • Are you able to perform the essential job tasks with or without an accommodation?
      • What accommodations would be necessary to enable you to perform the essential tasks?

The entire issue of disability is extremely tricky, so if you've got a candidate that does require some accommodations, be sure to work closely with your legal counsel.

Organizations:

The area of organizations is a bit of a minefield and probably best skirted if possible. Technically, you can ask about membership in clubs, organizations, professional associations, or other groups that the candidate belongs to, providing those organizations don't include any organization that might give you clues to the race, age, religion, color, national origin, or ancestry of its members. The best bet is to ask very specific questions, such as, "Are you a member of Toastmasters?", but only do this if you're trying to find out if they are members of job-related organizations. If you ask an open-ended question, such as, "What organizations do you belong to?", some candidates might go ahead and volunteer membership in organizations that you "shouldn't" know about.

Financial Status:

Unless financial considerations for the job in question exist (e.g. the employee will need to be bonded), this line of questioning could get you into trouble. If freedom from financial difficulties were a bona fide job qualification, few candidates would qualify!

In any case, Dan's question, "Are there any difficulties in the home or anywhere in your family life? Finances, in-laws, children, etc.?" treads on thin ice in the marital status, financial, and disability realms (a triple whammy!) and should be avoided. You might consider rephrasing the question to something like, "Is there anything else we should know about you that would impact on your ability to do this job?" However, doing so may open the door to you getting more information that you bargained for (note the section on Inadvertent Disclosure below).

Character:

Questions relating to an applicant's arrest record are improper, while questions of an applicant's conviction record may be asked, if job-related. There are two key considerations:

      • The nature and gravity of the offense relative to the nature of the job, and
      • The lapse of time between the conviction and current job selection process.

A recommended approach is to ask about any felony convictions, but with a disclaimer that convictions will not automatically disqualify a job applicant.

Religion:

Generally an employer cannot ask anything about religion. Period. But there's a bright spot for most of the readers of The Pastor's Coach. Religious institutions can give preference to individuals of their own religion. Be careful here; just because you can ask religious questions when hiring for a church, don't think you can use that same line of questioning in secular endeavors. A regular commercial business, regardless of how much they might be guided by Christian principles, cannot legally delve into the arena of religious convictions without inviting a lawsuit.

Inadvertent Disclosure:

During the interview, a candidate may volunteer information that amounts to answering a questionable question you didn't ask. The best advice is to tell the candidate that you don't want any further information on that subject and to let them know that you won't use what they did say in your hiring decision. And while I normally say you should take copious notes during an interview, be careful NOT to record any answers to questionable questions, whether volunteered or not. Any notes you take during an interview can and will be used against you in a court of law.

Required personal information:

Finally, information on things like marital status, number and age of children, and similar issues that are necessary for insurance or other business purposes can and should be obtained only after a person has been employed. Don't risk a charge of discrimination by asking for this information as part of the pre-employment application or interview process.

The best advice is that if you think a question is questionable, avoid asking it! Just remember the first basic rule of interviewing and you'll be just fine: "Ask only questions related to the job or work involved."

This article is intended as information, and is not a substitute for legal or other professional advice. If you have any questions about the legality of any part of your recruiting effort, you should contact a local attorney with expertise in labor issues who is familiar with the specific laws of the state in which you operate.

Copyright © 2003 Dan Shogren

"This article is used by permission from Dr. Dan Reiland's free monthly e-newsletter 'The Pastor's Coach' available at www.INJOY.com."