Submitted by Oldman54 on Wed, 11/16/2011 - 10:30
Tough time to be looking for a job, but I've been at for over a year and I'm beginning to think my age is really an issue. I'm 57 years old. In at least one interview I had the person actually asked me how old I was. I'm pretty sure that's illegal so I was shocked to hear it. In other interviews, the people were not that up front about the age issue, but I just got a feeling, based on how they dealt with me, that they were looking for someone a bit younger. What is the law in MA regarding questions about age and age discrimination? THanks.
Illegal question about age in interview
Yes, it's a bad time to be looking for employment, and I wish you luck. To answer your question: Under employment and hiring guidelines contained in 804 CMR 3.00, employers in Massachusetts may only ask about a prospective employee's age in very limited circumstances and/or in a specific manner. What that means is, except in situations described below, the only proper question an employer may ask about age is "Are you under 18?" With that question, the employer should seek only a yes or a no. The employer may NOT ask the applicant for her date of birth.
The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination recognizes a couple of exceptions to the general rule discussed above. First, in situations where questions about an applicant's age are required because of some other state of federal law, such as with certain public safety positions where their is an established age limit. Second, in some cases, the Commission may establish guidelines that allow questions about age for positions where age is considered an actual requirement or qualification. Hope that helps. You can follow this link for some general information about age discrimination in Massachusetts.