Iowa Law and Job Interviews

While some entrepreneurs manage most of their business affairs alone, most find it helpful to hire a few employees. If you are considering this option, you need to be aware of the legal regulations that cover every step of hiring someone new. Even interviewing potential candidates requires adherence to certain policies to avoid being targeted by a lawsuit.

If you are running a business, or plan to do so in the future, your Iowa lawyers, LaMarca & Landry, P.C. can help you at every step of the process. We provide informed guidance, skilled representation, and a wealth of information to each of our clients. Call our offices today at 877-327-2600.

Prohibited Questions

Iowa law protects job seekers from discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, religion, gender, age, disability, and country of origin. To ensure that applicants do not feel harassed during job interviews, there are certain questions that you are not even permitted to ask. These include questions about:

• The applicant’s nationality or immigration status. You may ask if a person is legally permitted to work in the US, but you cannot press for information about his or her country of origin, date of immigration, legal status, or any related topics.
• The applicant’s family life. It is permissible to ask about the flexibility of a person’s schedule. However, due to prohibitions against “pregnancy discrimination,” you cannot ask if a person has or wants children.
• It is permissible to check a candidate’s criminal records if it is relevant to the job. However, it is not permissible to ask about a person’s arrest record during the job interview.

Before you begin hiring new people, you should discuss your circumstances with an Iowa business law attorney to make sure you can avoid legal problems.

Contact Us

The Iowa business lawyers at LaMarca & Landry, P.C. provide knowledgeable assistance with a wide range of business matters. Contact us at 877-327-2600.