Sometimes, when you read a job posting, you wonder if an interviewer can actually exclude certain kinds of candidates. What can interviewers list in a job ad and what should not be listed in job advertisement? What are the rules and when do the rules not apply?

Interviewers are prohibited from discriminating against job candidates by several federal and state laws. Employers shouldn’t involve any reference to gender, marital/parental status, unemployment status, race, ethnicity, age, non-job related disability, national origin or religion in job advertisement.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the federal agency charged with implementing laws prohibiting job discrimination.

What Shouldn’t Be Listed in a Job Advertisement?

Employers cannot screen out a candidate with a GED versus a conventional high school degree. Nearly half of U.S. states prohibit discrimination deployed on sexual orientation. While there are presently no federal laws which apply to this population, ads for federal jobs shouldn’t include reference to sexual orientation.

Job postings shouldn’t include information about unemployment or request applications merely from people who are working. In fact, New York City approved legislation banning discrimination against the unemployed.

Seeking a Specific Type of Applicant

It is rare for an interviewer to blatantly violate these laws by saying something like “Only married men need apply.” More common violations include the implication (perhaps inadvertent) that a certain kind of protected class of person wouldn’t get consideration, e.g. searching for candidates with powerful family orientation, or seeking applicants with a youthful perspective on social media.

In few cases, an agency may not list requirements, but may post a mission statement or goals that demonstrate that they are seeking a certain kind of candidate:

Mission: To know Christ Jesus by living and then communicating the fullness of life within the family of God, the Church.

We’re seeking married couples to work in our homes.

In other cases, employers promote diversity:

All interested individuals, involving people of color, women, persons with disabilities and persons who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex are particularly urged to apply.

Women and men, and members of all racial and ethnic groups are motivated to apply.

Exceptions to Discrimination Laws

There are rare exceptions to these laws like cases where physical needs would make it impossible, even with accommodations, for a physically challenged person to carry out the job duties.

Religious groups can provide preference to a particular gender, or those with specific religious beliefs if dictated by doctrine or strictly needed to carry out the job e.g. Catholic Priests are all men and Lutheran Ministers are all Lutherans. On rare occasions when the connection of age to the job is very powerful, an employer might set or imply age limits in ads:

Age: Must be able to complete 20 years of service before age 62.