A hiring manager pauses over a gap in your resume and asks why you were out of work for six months. If the honest answer involves a medical condition, you may not know whether the question was even allowed.
Federal law draws a fairly clear line here, separating questions about your ability to do the work from questions about your health. Knowing where that line sits can help you prepare for your next interview.
Interviewers generally cannot ask about a disability
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) limits what an employer may ask before it offers you a job. In most cases, an interviewer may not ask if you have a disability, how severe it is or how you acquired it. Similar limits cover medical exams, prescription drugs and your history of workers’ compensation claims.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces the law and describes these limits on pre-offer questions. The federal rules generally cover private employers with 15 or more workers, and state laws provide broader protection. For instance, in Rhode Island, the Fair Employment Practices Act applies to employers with 4 or more employees
Interviewers may ask whether you can perform the job
The law does not ask employers to hire blindly. An interviewer may ask whether you can do the job, with or without a reasonable accommodation, and may ask you to describe or demonstrate how you would handle a task. Your schooling, work history and past attendance record are usually fair topics. The subject matter is what matters: the job, not your diagnosis. Confusion about that line is one source of unequal treatment on the job.
Applicants may request accommodations for the interview
You may request accommodation for the interview itself, such as a sign language interpreter, an accessible meeting room or extra time on a written test. Asking usually means sharing enough to explain the need, but not your full medical history.
In some situations, the employer may ask about accommodation first. This can happen when your disability is obvious or when you mention it yourself. Even then, the employer should limit the conversation to what adjustment would help you complete the interview. Detailed questions about the condition itself generally must wait until after a conditional job offer.
A conditional job offer changes the rules for medical questions
At this point, an employer may ask medical questions and require an exam, but it must do so for everyone entering the same job. If it then withdraws the offer, it generally must show that the decision was job-related and consistent with business necessity or that your condition posed a real risk of serious harm that no accommodation could reduce. Your medical details must stay confidential, with narrow exceptions for supervisors and safety personnel.
A clear record can guide your next step
If an interview question concerns you, write down the exact words, who asked it and when. These notes can help show what happened if you later speak with an attorney or file a complaint.
Do not wait too long to review your options. Rhode Island generally gives you one year to file with the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights. EEOC deadlines may be 180 or 300 days, depending on the claim.
