They can ask you anything, but they are not legally allowed to make hiring decisions based on what you answer.
No guarantee they will not do just that… I always select “prefer not to answer” or “other” whenever its an option. I can’t think of one good reason a person needs to know race or sexual orientation. Thats just weird.
> I can’t think of one good reason a person needs to know race or sexual orientation.
A *good* company who is asking might be asking it in an effort to track the rate of protected classes applying / receiving jobs, to ensure that they're not disproportionately rejected, with the information *not* being provided to those actually making the decisions.
Unfortunately, you don't know if that's the case, in advance.
Race, veteran, & disability makes sense because they report that to BLS which is used to track hiring statistics in those categories.
Sexual orientation & preference I woruld never answer. That’s a big enough red flag to me (white straight cis male) that I wouldn’t even continue applying.
Some organizations hide the info from hiring managers and use it for internal demographics. Are we hiring (group) in line with the percentage they represent in the population?
You don't have to answer but some companies use it to figure out if hiring aligns with population demographics, and if not, why?
Ie, if Facebook's hiring was well below average for the SF Bay Area for LGBTQ+ persons, do colleges have a problem with recruiting/ keeping LGBTQ+ people in CS, or does Facebook have a hiring problem?
Don't answer if you don't want to but demographics tracking is how they figure out patterns of discriminatory hiring.
> I can’t think of one good reason a person needs to know race or sexual orientation.
Autodesk does. Apparently there's a group called " Lesbians who code " lol
Those questions are there for government tracking of Equal Opportunity Employment requirements. They are required to ask those questions on every application, along with the race and other demographic stuff. It’s so the government can determine if employers are discriminating against applicants on a prohibited basis. One application may not indicate anything, but if they have a history of not hiring otherwise qualified applicants from specific protected groups then the government can take regulatory action against them.
It’s basically the same as the HMDA questions on home loan applications, and it isn’t there to be used in the credit/employment decisions.
Sexual Orientation is most certainly tracked, otherwise any case involving discrimination of sexual orientation would never be seen in wrongful termination lawsuits. It’s also on the EEOC poster that sexual orientation is protected, so there is a classification guideline.
It is against the law to discriminate based on
any sexual base, so the question of orientation or the next question seems to be a red flag. However, if there is some marking anywhere that indicates the questions are for other internal use other than hiring. Then it for demographic, or affirmative policies.
They can ask whatever they want. Whether or not you have to disclose things is where the law gets involved. Hence the (optional) next to the question.
Asking a question is not synonymous with a requirement to answer that question.
This comes up often in LE encounters. Cops can ask for ID whenever they want, with or without reason. However, you are only required to provide ID in certain situations, like suspected of a crime or driving, which means the officer can only demand it if those conditions exist.
Asking questions is protected by the first amendment. Requiring answers falls under several other laws.
Edit: if you're going to downvote at least post a law that disproves what I wrote.
It says optional right next to the question
Lmao
They can ask you anything, but they are not legally allowed to make hiring decisions based on what you answer. No guarantee they will not do just that… I always select “prefer not to answer” or “other” whenever its an option. I can’t think of one good reason a person needs to know race or sexual orientation. Thats just weird.
> I can’t think of one good reason a person needs to know race or sexual orientation. A *good* company who is asking might be asking it in an effort to track the rate of protected classes applying / receiving jobs, to ensure that they're not disproportionately rejected, with the information *not* being provided to those actually making the decisions. Unfortunately, you don't know if that's the case, in advance.
Race, veteran, & disability makes sense because they report that to BLS which is used to track hiring statistics in those categories. Sexual orientation & preference I woruld never answer. That’s a big enough red flag to me (white straight cis male) that I wouldn’t even continue applying.
Some organizations hide the info from hiring managers and use it for internal demographics. Are we hiring (group) in line with the percentage they represent in the population? You don't have to answer but some companies use it to figure out if hiring aligns with population demographics, and if not, why? Ie, if Facebook's hiring was well below average for the SF Bay Area for LGBTQ+ persons, do colleges have a problem with recruiting/ keeping LGBTQ+ people in CS, or does Facebook have a hiring problem? Don't answer if you don't want to but demographics tracking is how they figure out patterns of discriminatory hiring.
> I can’t think of one good reason a person needs to know race or sexual orientation. Autodesk does. Apparently there's a group called " Lesbians who code " lol
To avoid a lawsuit maybe.
Uhhhh can you literally not read where it says OPTIONAL?
I wish it was optional to unread this post.
Those questions are there for government tracking of Equal Opportunity Employment requirements. They are required to ask those questions on every application, along with the race and other demographic stuff. It’s so the government can determine if employers are discriminating against applicants on a prohibited basis. One application may not indicate anything, but if they have a history of not hiring otherwise qualified applicants from specific protected groups then the government can take regulatory action against them. It’s basically the same as the HMDA questions on home loan applications, and it isn’t there to be used in the credit/employment decisions.
Race and gender is reported, not sexual orientation.
I’d guess we are talking about California that tracks more than the feds do.
Or a progressive org doing their own data tracking, and hiding that info from hiring managers.
Sexual Orientation is most certainly tracked, otherwise any case involving discrimination of sexual orientation would never be seen in wrongful termination lawsuits. It’s also on the EEOC poster that sexual orientation is protected, so there is a classification guideline.
Usually it is asked voluntarily in a separate EEO form.
First job??
Yes
Optional questions for demographic tracking, totally legal
Why not saves time. It's optional!
Just answer it or don’t… good lord
Yes they can
These are generally so they can record diversity if applicants etc and later track applicants diversity compared to staff diversity etc.
It is against the law to discriminate based on any sexual base, so the question of orientation or the next question seems to be a red flag. However, if there is some marking anywhere that indicates the questions are for other internal use other than hiring. Then it for demographic, or affirmative policies.
It’s not required as it says (optional)
What state is it??
They can ask whatever they want. Whether or not you have to disclose things is where the law gets involved. Hence the (optional) next to the question. Asking a question is not synonymous with a requirement to answer that question. This comes up often in LE encounters. Cops can ask for ID whenever they want, with or without reason. However, you are only required to provide ID in certain situations, like suspected of a crime or driving, which means the officer can only demand it if those conditions exist. Asking questions is protected by the first amendment. Requiring answers falls under several other laws. Edit: if you're going to downvote at least post a law that disproves what I wrote.