Is this legal to ask?

[Accountable]

This was required information in an online application I just filled out. How in Hades is any of this (1) relevant and (2) not a violation of my privacy????

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Has your family received Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), AFDC, Welfare, and / or Medicaid benefits within the last 6 years?
Yes
No
Unsure
Has your family received Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), AFDC, Welfare, or General Assistance benefits within the last 6 years?
Yes
No
Unsure

At any time in the last 3 months, have you received Supplemental Security Income (SSI) OR have you received rehabilitation services from a state rehabilitation services program or through the Veteran's Administration OR in the last year, were you convicted of or released from prison for a felony?
Yes
No
Unsure
Please select your age group:
Younger than 16
16 - 17
18 - 24
25 or older
Are you a veteran?
Yes
No
Please enter your date of birth in the following format: MM/DD/YYYY. For example, June 30th 1970 would be entered 06/30/1970. (Please note this information is used for tax credit eligibility purposes only and will not be made available to anyone involved in the hiring decision).

*there was a calendar here that really screwed up this post so I deleted it*

Has your family received food stamps within the last 2 years?
Yes
No
Unsure

[chonsigirl]

I assume it was a job application. My son had those same questions appear for him, everytime he did an application online. I thought-it was none of their business!

[Marie5656]

Unless you were applying for public assistance, I cannot see where any of this information is relevant, or needed. Seems an invasion of privacy to me.

[spot]

I'd assumed it was a health insurance application. I expect it's lawful to ask any of this so long as it doesn't overlap with any civil rights equality code (have you engaged in an unsafe homosexual practice in the last ten years; were you born female; are you Aryan as determined by Third Reich racial purity standards).

[Accountable]

It was a job application. It's for the company to gain some type of tax advantage, but I still don't see how it's legal to force an answer.

[spot]

In that case it seems to me that the only time when the information would be of use to them is after they have made the appointment of the winning applicant. At that stage the answers become relevant. In terms of shortlisting applicants it seems invidious, and it ties up time that the applicant could use in expanding on factors that ought to be considered.

[BabyRider]

One thing I know for certain, Acc., is that it IS illegal to ask your age. You can inquire as to whether you are 18 or over, but to ask for a specific age is not allowed. That one I know for a fact. The others just seem way too invasive for an application. I'd tell 'em to go screw themselves, personally.

[kumininexile]

Accountable, the truth of the matter is that those questions are illegal, and you don't have to answer them as a result. Now that, of course, might cause the employer to ask you why you omitted answering the questions. If that happens, you can simply be truthful with him/her, and answer tactfully that you don't understand why those questions are being asked. If that then provokes more resentment/resistance from your interviewer, than you've got to ask yourself whether or not you really want to work for a business that asks questions such as those of its job applicants in the first place? Those questions could be indicative of the kind of work environment you'd encounter if they hired you afterall, and you probably don't want that!

Another very important thing: download the application form from the Internet showing the important information about the company such as their name, phone number, and where they're located. Then, get the URL for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or some such related federal agency, and forward a copy of the application form onto them, so they can see it for themselves. Include a cover letter, explaining what your complaint is. My guess is that it would be a federal agency, (such as the E.E.O.C.,) that you would report this to instead of a state or local one, since the job application is posted on the Internet, and the Internet reaches into all fifty states. Good luck.

Thought For The Day: you might want to be considerate enough of the business who's asking you those nosey questions, to let them know you're planning to forward a copy of their job application to the E.E.O.C. For all you know, they might back down and waive the requirement that you answer those questions! You decide, though.

[Accountable]

Thanks, I may just do that. It's an online application that won't let you proceed without giving an answer. I put my date of birth as May 21, 2006.

[chonsigirl]