Dive Brief:
- Super Tuesday may be in the rearview mirror, but the 2016 presidential election is just getting started. Asking a job candidate who they are voting may seem harmless, but it crosses a personal line – and can get an employer into legal trouble, Business Insider reports.
- William A. Herbert, chair of the New York State Bar Association's Labor and Employment Section, told Business Insider that in the public sector, for example, questions related to politics during a job interview could cross long-standing state tenure laws that guard against political patronage.
- In the private sector, there are no laws preventing a job interviewer from asking about politics, but it could still lead to a claim that states the applicant was discriminated against if an employer isn't careful.
Dive Insight:
Herbert told Business Insider that a job applicant who doesn't get public sector position following that seemingly harmless question might believe the denial violated their right of association under the First Amendment and state law.
Likewise, federal employers are not allowed to ask federal employees and/or job applicants about political party affiliation.
Stacey K. Grigsby, a lawyer who specializes in employment law issues and previously worked for the US Justice Department, told Business Insider that asking job candidates about political beliefs in the private sector could lead to a claim if it was connected to race, gender religion, sexual orientation or other legally protected status.
