employment
Are all interview questions that don&#39;t apply to essential functions illegal?
<p>Let's say I want to assess how comfortable a candidate is with casual conversation, and if he would fit into our business culture. If I ask a question like "What kind of music do you like?", is that legal? The question is definitely not relevant to essential job functions, but based on how he answers I can assess how well he would fit in our company culture.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Are all interview questions that don't apply to essential functions illegal?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>No. Not all such questions are illegal, but see one <a href="https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/3554/are-all-interview-questions-that-dont-apply-to-essential-functions-illegal/48310?noredirect=1#comment94083_48310">exception</a> from California legislation as pointed out by @GeorgeWhite and others in <a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&amp;division=2.&amp;title=&amp;part=1.&amp;chapter=3.&amp;article=3." rel="nofollow noreferrer">section 432.7</a> of the state Labor Code. Other jurisdictions very likely have equivalent prohibitions, but questions like the one you envisioned ("<em>What music do you like</em>") would not infringe statutory provisions.</p>

<p>Generally speaking, it is lawful for an employer to assess candidates' personality &amp; non-essential skills under casual and not-so-casual scenarios through the use of questions with no relevance to the job at issue. Only in very specific circumstances certain pattern(s) of questions may lead to a finding of harassment or discrimination.</p>

<p>Questions related to categories which the Civil Rights Act protects are risky because a rejected candidate would have at least some grounds for a claim of discrimination. Those categories are [candidate's] race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.</p>

<p>Questions on those protected categories are not illegal, but the employer will have the burden of proving that its challenged practice (i.e., making seemingly discriminatory questions) "<em>is job related for the position in question and consistent with business necessity</em>" (see <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/2000e-2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">42 USC § 2000e-2(k)(1)(A)(ii)</a>) rather than for purposes of unlawful discrimination.</p>
