Asking where someone lives on an interview? Ok or not ok

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cTAP56

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cTAP56
Feb 24, 2021 5 Comments

I am a recruiter in New York City and I have noticed that a lot of my clients are asking me where candidates live so they can have a better understanding of if they feel their commute will be “too long” once everyone returns to in person. New York City is a commuter city and people commute in from all over the tri-state area- this is nothing new.

Is it legal to ask where a candidate lives? It seems as though a lot of companies want to make the determination themselves as to if they feel the candidate’s commute is too long or not, even if they’ve been working in New York City for the last several years commuting in from Jersey, Long Island, CT, PA, etc.

#employmentlaw #hr #people #recruiting #interviews

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TOP 5 Comments
  • Frowned upon as a very easy source or bias and not relevant to ability to do the job.
    Mar 19, 2021 0
  • Advised against due to bias and discrimination.

    Let's say they tell you Harlem and then don't get the job....as far as they were concerned the interview was going great until they said Harlem. it turns out your company has no employees in Harlem (high black population) and suddenly you are being sued for discrimination.

    Better to tell them the office is in X and the expectation is that they can come to the office 5 days a week. Are they able to do that.
    May 6, 2021 0
  • Amazon
    ouiM56

    Go to company page Amazon

    ouiM56
    Would you hire someone who lived more than 24 hours commuting from the office, but promised that they would commute once remote work is over?
    May 6, 2021 0
  • New
    SnoopyB

    New

    SnoopyB
    Totally reasonable. It affects compensation. Different locations have different comp bands. There’s a certain # of miles from a city that determines if the person is in the area or not.
    Mar 1, 2021 0
  • Amazon
    muffinkid

    Go to company page Amazon

    muffinkid
    Yes that's totally fine and reasonable.
    Feb 24, 2021 0