Questions employers may not ask in an interview

Employers have enormous latitude in the kind of questions they can ask in an interview. But a series of laws beginning in the 1960's made certain kinds of personal information protected, closing down lines of questions about an applicant's race, beliefs, marital status, age, et cetera. States and municipalities have established even more protections, making it illegal to ask questions that would reveal such things as the applicant's sexual orientation. Affirmative action reaffirms these laws and demands that businesses with government contracts and more than 50 employees have a work force that represents the diversity of their society.