Orange County California Employment Lawyer

Hiring Discrimination

It would make sense for employers to hire the most qualified applicants for every position, but the state of California does not legally require them to do so. Employers may choose their employees based on almost any criteria they like, with only six exceptions. Those exceptions are race, sex, age, religion, disability and national origin. It is illegal for an employer to turn a person down for a job because – and only because – of the applicant’s status in one or more of those areas.

Of course, it is very difficult to know why exactly one person was turned down and another was hired. Employers will certainly not tell you to your face that they won’t hire you because they are practicing illegal discrimination! One way to keep an eye out for discrimination is to pay attention during the job interview. There are certain questions that employers are allowed to ask, and some they aren’t.

Although sexual orientation is not officially recognized as a category of illegal discrimination, it is still unacceptable for an employer to turn you down for a job because of your orientation. Employers legally cannot ask any questions about this during a job interview – obviously they cannot ask what your orientation is, but they cannot even ask if you are married or plan to have children.

Employers also cannot ask if you have ever been arrested. If you have been convicted of a crime, that is a legally acceptable reason to pass you over for a job. But people who have only been arrested are not necessarily guilty of anything, and therefore cannot be discriminated against.

If an employer asks you any questions during an interview about your ethnicity (with the exception of optional questions on an application), place of origin (with the exception of asking if you can legally work in this country), age, or religious beliefs, you may be a target of illegal discrimination. If this is the case, contact experienced Orange County employment lawyer Perry Smith at (888) 356-2529.