3 ms·

In Germany, there are certain kinds of questions that are not permissible on an employment questionnaire, for example asking whether a candidate is pregnant or

In Germany, there are certain kinds of questions that are not permissible on an employment questionnaire, for example asking whether a candidate is pregnant or plans on having children, union affiliation, etc. However, these questions are often included in the questionnaire and not answering them would provide sufficient signal to the employer and the only remedy would be to sue the employer. So it's explictly permitted to lie in the answer, rendering the questions useless. I expect a similar line of reasoning applying to this case: The question is about a protected, legal activity which is nonetheless undesirable for certain employers. Asking the question and requiring a truthful answer would undermine the protected, legal activity. Hence an effective remedy is explicitly allowing to lie in the response.

thegrim33 2y ago
> "there are certain kinds of questions that are not permissible on an employment questionnaire" .. "these questions are often included in the questionnaire". I don't follow. It's not permissible but these companies just blatantly ignore the law and ask it anyways? Or it is permissible?
- abhorrence 2y ago
  Presumably they ignore the law.
- Xylakant 2y ago
  Those companies ignore the law - knowing that a candidate could sue, but then they would remove the canditate from the pool for any unrelated reason. A union could sue on behalf of a candidate, but until the case is resolved, the questionnaire still stands. Allowing candidates to just fill in the expected answer, truthful or not, is an effective remedy - it renders the question useless as a signal for the employer.
- AdrianB1 2y ago
  In most of Europe there is no notion of punitive damages in a law suit. That means if you sue that company they will fix the questionnaire with no other consequences. 3 months later they can put it back, also without consequences. Suing them can be costly, so most people will not bother. There is zero reward for doing it, as a candidate you waste time and money with no net return. All negatives and no positives. So with very little risk, they do it.
- louiskottmann 2y ago
  It's not allowed, but you'd have to sue if you uncover one such questionnaire, which is a hassle. So instead, lying on your answer is not sue-able. Which makes including such questions ineffective.
lazide 2y ago
It renders the questions useless against experienced candidates, but not against naive or ignorant ones. So it still has value to employers. The best remedy to stop such things is a statutory ‘bounty’ for such activity - like the $2500 penalty for California employers for attempting to scare employees with unenforceable non-competes.

thegrim33 2y ago

> "there are certain kinds of questions that are not permissible on an employment questionnaire" .. "these questions are often included in the questionnaire". I don't follow. It's not permissible but these companies just blatantly ignore the law and ask it anyways? Or it is permissible?

abhorrence 2y ago
Presumably they ignore the law.
Xylakant 2y ago
Those companies ignore the law - knowing that a candidate could sue, but then they would remove the canditate from the pool for any unrelated reason. A union could sue on behalf of a candidate, but until the case is resolved, the questionnaire still stands. Allowing candidates to just fill in the expected answer, truthful or not, is an effective remedy - it renders the question useless as a signal for the employer.
AdrianB1 2y ago
In most of Europe there is no notion of punitive damages in a law suit. That means if you sue that company they will fix the questionnaire with no other consequences. 3 months later they can put it back, also without consequences. Suing them can be costly, so most people will not bother. There is zero reward for doing it, as a candidate you waste time and money with no net return. All negatives and no positives. So with very little risk, they do it.
louiskottmann 2y ago
It's not allowed, but you'd have to sue if you uncover one such questionnaire, which is a hassle. So instead, lying on your answer is not sue-able. Which makes including such questions ineffective.

lazide 2y ago

It renders the questions useless against experienced candidates, but not against naive or ignorant ones. So it still has value to employers. The best remedy to stop such things is a statutory ‘bounty’ for such activity - like the $2500 penalty for California employers for attempting to scare employees with unenforceable non-competes.