Guide
Fair hiring questions for hourly jobs.
Every applicant for a job should get the same questions, about the work and nothing personal. Here are the lines a first round stays inside, and how to word the questions that come close to them.
Six rules
What a first round stays inside.
Ask whether someone can do the work, with or without reasonable accommodation.
Before an offer, don’t ask about disabilities, health, injuries or past workers’ comp claims.
Ask whether someone is authorized to work in the U.S., not about citizenship.
Documents come later, on the I-9, once the job offer is accepted.
DOJ Immigrant and Employee Rights Section FAQsUSCIS: Completing Form I-9 Section 1
Keep criminal-history questions out of the text screen.
Where fair-chance laws apply, they wait until after an interview or a conditional offer, depending on the place. A “yes” by text isn’t the separate disclosure and signed authorization a background check needs.
NELP: Ban the box state and local guideFTC: Background checks, what employers need to know
Avoid questions about age.
The exception is work federal child labor rules bar for anyone under 18, such as roofing, driving for work, or running chain saws and wood chippers, where you can confirm an applicant is 18 or older. State rules can be stricter.
DOL: Youth rules for 16- and 17-year-oldsDOL: Child labor and roofing
Don’t ask about children, family, marital status or pay history.
Questions about family can be taken as intent to discriminate, and many states and cities bar asking about past pay.
EEOC: Pre-employment inquiries and marital status or number of childrenHR Dive: Salary history bans by state
Ask about English only where the job needs it.
A fluency requirement is fair when the work genuinely depends on it, such as talking with guests or customers.
Ask this, not that
The same need, worded two ways.
- Ask
“The job means lifting 50 pounds all day. Can you do that, with or without reasonable accommodation?”
Not“Do you have any injuries or health problems?”
Ask about the work, not about the person’s body.
- Ask
“Are you authorized to work in the United States?”
Not“Are you a citizen? Where were you born?”
Authorization is what the job needs, and documents come later on the I-9.
- Ask
“Which days and hours usually work for you?”
Not“Do you have kids? Who watches them while you work?”
Availability is the question; family is not.
- Ask
“This job includes driving for work. Are you 18 or older?”
Not“How old are you?”
Only confirm 18 or older, and only where federal rules bar younger workers from the work.
- Ask
“What pay are you looking for?”
Not“What were you paid at your last job?”
Many states and cities bar asking about past pay.
- Ask
“This role talks with guests all shift. Can you do that in English?”
Not“Is English your first language?”
Ask about the language the job needs, and only when it needs one.
Rules for your trade
Some work comes with its own rules, like who can drive for a moving company or run a chain saw on a landscaping crew. Each trade’s page lists the ones that apply: cleaning, moving, landscaping, hotels & motels, construction and home services.
General information, not legal advice. Laws vary by state and city.
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