Earlier this year, the N.Y State Division of Human Rights (“SDHR”) settled a series of complaints it brought against three Long Island fire departments and districts related to allegations about the display of Confederate flags on their property, discriminatory membership policies and unlawful inquiries on applications that, it was claimed, violated the N.Y. State Human Rights Law (“the HRL”). In the settlement agreements, the fire departments and districts agreed to amend their membership applications and policies to comply with the HRL.
The HRL prohibits employers from engaging in, among other things, discriminatory hiring practices based upon an applicant’s protected characteristic (e.g., age, disability, gender).
If an employer elects to use a job application, it must limit its inquiries to those that are relevant to the job sought based on an individual’s ability to perform the job and not their protected characteristics. Examples of unlawful inquiries on a job application include those that may be construed as seeking unnecessary information about an applicant’s race/color, creed, national origin, disability, religion, ethnicity, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and martial and pregnancy status. As a result, typical application questions that can become legally problematic include those seeking, for example, a social security number, mother’s maiden name, years attended school, driver’s license information and last several addresses.
Given the SDHR’s renewed focus on employment applications, it is important to review yours to ensure compliance with applicable law. If you have any questions about your application, please contact any of our Labor Relations & Employment Law attorneys.
