BleepingComputer.com: Target asked me how old I was in an interview

I've read its illegal for employers to ask you about your age. I think they are allowed to ask if you are over 18, 21, etc, which makes sense because that may be necessary information depending on the job applied for. But yeterday the interviewer just flat out asked me "How old are you?"

I gotta get myself a miniature recorder or something for these interviews. At least to help me remember and write down the questions so I can work on them for next time.

All retail stores online Unicru (don't get me started) questions require your date of birth. So I don't know why this is allowed.

How about if they don't ask, but look at your ID, i.e. Drivers License or State Identification card? Your birth date is there. Or when filling out your application they get it from your SSN. The problem here is what the information is going to be used for. Asking for and getting this information leaves the employer open to job discrimination grievances, because they have this information readily available. Another possibility to consider is that they ask the question to judge how you respond to the question? Are you passive? Are you confrontational? Do you have an appropriate response to the question? The best way to handle the issue is ask your state EEOC what are illegal questions during an interview, not all states are the same. Also ask your EEOC what the appropriate response should be to the employer that asks one. Also consider how bad you want the job vs the question being asked. Is asking your age that much an invasion of privacy if you want to be hired? Or is this a matter of principle?

I have 3 Dave Mc Culloch's working for me. All unrelated, the only way I can tell who is who when looking at their work profiles is their age. One is 24, one is 39 and one is 51.

Date of birth in the state I employ is permissible because it's a matter of public record. I can go down to the county court house and look up your date and place of birth as well as your mother's and father's names. Don't believe me? Thats why there are genealogical societies.

Wouldnt you have already given your age in the job application. Most information that a employer can use to discriminate against you is filled in on a application form so asking or not asking you these questions in the interview may not make a difference.

While I do not believe that in the U.S. it is expressly illegal to ask someone how old they are, (there may not be federal laws prohibiting it but some state laws may prohibit it) that question should not be asked in an interview...

"As a general rule, the information obtained and requested through the pre-employment process should be limited to those essential for determining if a person is qualified for the job; whereas, information regarding race, sex, national origin, age, and religion are irrelevant in such determinations.

Employers are explicitly prohibited from making pre-employment inquiries about disability.

Although state and federal equal opportunity laws do not clearly forbid employers from making pre-employment inquiries that relate to, or disproportionately screen out members based on race, color, sex, national origin, religion, or age, such inquiries may be used as evidence of an employer's intent to discriminate unless the questions asked can be justified by some business purpose.
"

I have never filled out an application that asked for my birthdate and have never been asked my age in an interview. Most of the apps I have seen do ask if you are over 18, but some only ask if you are over 16.

I have never been asked for my actual license or S.S. card until after I have been given the job. Most apps do ask if you have the legal right to work in this country and usually say that if an offer of employment is given and accepted, you will need to submit proof of that. After accepting the offer of employment is the only time that the license and S.S. card need to be submitted and I have never been asked for it before then

"Similarly, employers should not ask for a photograph of an applicant. If needed for identification purposes, a photograph may be obtained after an offer of employment is made and accepted."

The above quotes all come from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commision, a government website....

http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/practices/index.cfm

My resume kind of gives them some idea of how old I am, as it does state that I have experience in a particular field since a certain year. Even though having experience since that year makes me almost as old as dinosaurs, I kind of see it as a plus. It pretty much shows that I am out of the baby making and child rearing age group so they won't have to deal with those issues. Also, if all they want working there are young ones, I would rather they know right up front that I am not one of them so that they do not waste my time. Interviews are no fun, I only want to go to the ones I actually have a shot of getting a job from.

Some jobs are dependent on age. Examples: in most states, there are restrictions on age when it comes to operating various types of machinery. There are also restrictions against under-agers selling alcohol or even taking it from the bar to a customer.
And all states have laws which dictate hours of work for those under 18 and still in high school. In this case, the employer does need to know your age so they can comply with the law.
If you appear young, it's vital to know how old you are so the employer can find the right spot for you within the company.
They certainly don't want to run afoul of the law.

What Queen-evie said.

Stang777

Go ahead and apply for any retail job online (since that is the ONLY way) and fill out an application just for the heck of it. You don't have to submit, but you could to see what happens.

Lowes, Target, Staples, BestBuy, Kmart, FedEx, Circuit Cit- (oh wait, they went out of business, haha), Office Max, Office Depot, et al make up the hall of shame that now uses Kronos's (Unicru) Red, Yellow, Green, stop light system of hiring employees. All of them will ask for your date of birth, social security number, drivers license number (sometimes), and more up front.

I'm just posting this to prove it to you if you don't believe it. You can see for yourself.


Queen-Evie

I think there are really only 3 ages that matter. 18, 21, and 25 (for some driving jobs). Some applications ask if you are over 16 or something. I don't think there are any jobs that require someone to be over 31 or 49 or 52. So I understand asking someone "are you at least ____". But I see no need to know someones exact age.

In the case of minors, it is important to know how old the kid is.
15 year olds have more restrictions concerning hours per week worked and times they can work during the school year.
16 and up can generally work unlimited hours.
Under 18 year olds are banned from jobs using dangerous or heavy equipment.
An employer is obligated to follow these laws, therefore they need to know if someone they are considering hiring fall into any of the above categories.
(this is Federal law, and each state may have even more restrictions)

TheEgg, I have no desire to fill out an app just for the heck of it. You do not have to prove that you are telling the truth, I never did not believe you. All I meant was that I have not encountered that, leastwise not that I recall. I guess I could just not be remembering it as personally, I do not see the problem of them asking that on a job application. However, if it is not on the application, it should not be asked in the interview unless the person appears to be a minor or the job requirements are such that one must be of atleast a certain age and the person is not obviously well over that age. If one is over 40 and that question is asked in an interview, but is not on the application, that would be a big no-no for the employer to ask as it could set them up for a discrimination complaint if they did not hire the applicant.

I guess I am confused because the initial question here was about them asking this question in an interview but if the question was on the job application, I do not see why that question would be asked as they already know how old you are. The only reason I can see it being asked in that case is if you look like you are under 21 and the person interviewing you does not have your application in front of them and they are considering what kind of position they can offer you. As Queen-Evie has mentioned, some positions do require you to be of a certain age so if you look under that, then they may be wondering if they can hire you for that position or if they would need to hire you for a different position because of you being too young for that position, or if they can even hire you at all.

If you are obviously over 21, I can see no justifiable reason why this question would be asked in a job interview. As for the date of birth being asked on the job application, one reason I can think of for some jobs is some employers will run a credit check on you before the interview and having the birthdate can help them determine if the credit check came back on the right person. That reason really would not apply for most retail jobs however, unless it was for a management position, in which case they just might do that. I think the reason for it being on the job applications you are talking about is they are just generic applications that were not really thought out well.

Regardless of when this question is asked, why does it matter to you if this question is asked? The interviewer will have a pretty good idea how old you are just from looking at you and the employer will at some point, know your exact age. Unless you feel you that you may be discriminated against, does it really matter that they know your age from the get-go? What is it that makes this question bother you?

Like Animal said, sometimes they ask things that seem off the wall just to see how you respond. I think if I was asked this question in an interview, I might just laugh and say something to the effect of, "old enough to do the job and young enough to do the job". I really doubt they would push it further but if they did, I would answer but I also might just ask them why they are asking.

I am hopefully interviewing for a position this coming week, it will be interesting to me now to see if it is asked. In my case, there would be no justifiable reason for them to ask me this question in an interview. I hope none of the jobs I will be applying for plan to do a credit check on me, I have placed a fraud alert on my credit report which means they might not be able to get it, oh-oh, I didn't think of that before now. It would stink if that was used against me, I have really good credit so if that matters to them, I would like them to get my report and now they can't and I really want a different job soon.

Another possibility is if the employer runs a criminal history check on the applicants he/she is considering as a possible employee. If you are at the interview stage, you are a employee possibility at that stage. A position won't be offered unless the applicant passes that check. In those situations, the date of birth and age is a requirement. Such positions include but are not limited to: teaching positions, ministry, child care providers, health care workers, and government positions.

~ OB

it may not be legal but it can be appropriate depending on the job. at target, I cant imagine any such jobs except maybe selling cigarrettes, the only reason I can think of is maybe theres a certain age group that is their largest customer base-in which case they may think it prudent to hire salespeople of the same age group, but thats just a hypothesis.