Part I: Interview Questions
For this part of the exercise, you will need to be familiar with the week 3 readings, specifically the federal antidiscrimination laws. Assume you just became a member of the hiring committee at your workplace. As part of
the hiring committee, you have to interview qualified candidates and make hiring decisions. You have been told that the company has a set of questions that it has been using for a very, very long time. However, since you are the newest member of the committee, you were asked to review these questions to make sure that the questions are appropriate and comply with federal law.
A list of interview questions is produced below. The list below may contain more than three questions that could be considered inappropriate as they may be seeking information that is protected by federal antidiscrimination laws. You can assume that some of these questions are being asked for the purpose to eliminate job candidates. You can also assume that all federal laws apply to the employer.
Your job is to only identify three inappropriate questions from the list below. Note: Not all questions are inappropriate. You need to identify only 3 inappropriate questions. For each of your three questions, list the question and explain: why you believe the question may be inappropriate, discuss which protected class is at issue, and which federal antidiscrimination law applies to prohibit such information.
Interview Questions:
1. We would love to hear from you. Tell us a little about yourself.
2. Where were you or your parents born?
3. We are looking for healthy and fit people. Do you have any medical conditions we should know about?
4. Before we make an offer, we require that you take a physical. Are you willing to take a physical?
5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
6. What year did you graduate high school?
7. We have a more conservative atmosphere here. Just checking, are you gay?
8. Are you considering starting a family or becoming pregnant?
9. What is your religious affiliation or denomination?
10. In sum, why should we hire you?
Part II: Microaggression
Microaggression is a term that is being used or discussed more frequently of late. Microaggressions are defined as the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership.
I suspect many of us have stated things that we did not know could be considered a microaggression. I have attached a document titled, Tool: Recognizing Microaggressions and the Messages They Send. This is not an exhaustive list of microaggressions, but it provides examples of how some comments or questions we state can have the effect of sending an unintended or negative message to the recipient of our message. This reinforces what many of us know our words and conduct matter. Furthermore, by continuing to educate ourselves, we can better understand the implications of our words and conduct, and make any necessary corrections.
Microaggression handout:
Microaggression Video Clip:
Question: Please read the microaggressions handout and watch the video. The video contains three scenes, but you only need to pick two scenes and answer the following for each scene you choose: Identify the microaggression in the scene and explain what negative message it may be sending.
Scene#________
Identify the microaggression and explain what negative message it may be sending:
Scene#________
Identify the microaggression and explain what negative message it may be sending:
Part III. Bonus/Extra Credit Question:
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not specifically list sexual orientation as a protected class. Does California law list sexual orientation as a protected class? If yes, please state the California law.
