Potential employer risks legal liability by asking applicant's age

Q. I received a call from a prospective employer this morning and had a short phone interview. One of the questions the interviewer asked was how old I am. I have never been asked this question before, and a friend of mine in human resources told me that interviewers are not supposed to ask the age of a candidate. Is this correct? How should I respond to this question if it comes up in the future?

A. Your friend in human resources is correct; interviewers are not supposed to ask the age of a candidate. By asking about age, this employer is risking legal liability. Presumably, this employer may be planning to use applicant age as a hiring criterion.

There are both federal and state laws which prohibit employers from discriminating against older workers -- that is, workers who are age 40 or older.

If this employer hopes to interview only candidates under a certain age by asking about age upfront, then clearly this interviewer is acting in blatant violation of antiage discrimination laws.

The only way this interviewer could get away with acting so irresponsibly is if he or she is working for an employer with fewer than 6 employees.

The federal antidiscrimination law applies to employers with 20 or more employees.

Massachusetts state law applies to employers with 6 or more employees.

Employers are entitled to ask about age when an applicant's age is a relevant requirement for the job. For example, the owner of a tavern would need to verify that a prospective bartender is, in fact, at least 21 years old.

Employers may ask if an applicant is over 18 years old, because youth employment laws restrict the types of work and the hours of work for individuals younger than 18, says Dan Field, an attorney with the Boston labor and employment law firm Morgan, Brown & Joy, LLP. Some state and federal jobs have age requirements, as does the military.

You ask how you should handle this question should you be asked again how old you are by an interviewer. Here are possible passably polite but direct responses that might work:

I would be glad to tell you my age if you first explain to me how my age is relevant for this job; Do you have a particular ideal age range in mind for this position? And, are you aware that asking an applicant's age is against the law? I'd rather not disclose my age, as I don't think that my age is relevant for the job. Let me talk about my other qualifications . . .

You neglected to share how you answered the question. I assume you were so shocked by it that you just blurted out your true age.

If you choose to, you can "report" this interviewer, either to the head of human resources or to the company president, to let them know how one of their staff is conducting a telephone screen.

It would be instructive to find out if the interviewer was merely untrained and/or unintelligent, or if he or she is reflecting company policy.

If management appears disinterested in hearing your story, you may decide to take this further and file a claim with the EEOC, especially if you are an older worker and feel you have been discriminated against.

Job seeker needs to be more active in search
Q. My husband and I attended a cocktail party for colleagues who used to work together at a large high-tech employer (the company no longer exists). My husband, currently unemployed, used the occasion to network with some of his former colleagues who are now in executive positions in other companies. He handed out many business cards, and everyone promised to help. He came home excited about his job prospects for the first time in months. Now it's been over three weeks since the party, and he's really depressed because he hasn't heard from anyone.

A. Your husband needs to take the initiative and follow up with everyone with whom he made contact at the cocktail party. Although your husband's colleagues are probably well-intentioned, your husband's job search is just not a priority for his colleagues as it is for him.

A cocktail party is not a business meeting nor a professional setting. Your husband demonstrated courage by attending the cocktail party in the first place. Many of my unemployed clients are reluctant to attend social functions, especially where they would encounter former colleagues. This is a serious mistake. Former colleagues and supervisors can be central to an individual's job search network.

Your husband needs to be an active participant in his own job search campaign. It's still not too late for him to contact each and every one of the people with whom he spoke at the cocktail party, first with an e-mail, followed by a telephone call. (In the future, he should follow up as soon as possible -- within a week after meeting people at a social function.)

In the e-mail, your husband can say how wonderful it was to see him or her -- and their other colleagues -- mention something about the colleague's new job or company, and to request a short meeting, at the person's office.

At the meeting, your husband can better inform his colleague about what he's been doing since they worked together, and more specifically what type of position(s) he's looking for. The phone call is to schedule a mutually convenient time to meet, perhaps for breakfast, coffee or lunch, at his colleague's convenience.

As with any exploratory or informational interview, your husband should explain that he doesn't expect his colleague to be able to tell him about any specific job openings at the present time in his company, but that "as someone who is well respected in the field" the colleague would be certain to have "some valuable advice" for your husband.

In following up with his colleagues, your husband would be seeking referrals to other key players in his industry or field, and, of course, wouldn't mind uncovering a genuine job lead or two.

Another reason that your husband may not have heard from any of his colleagues is that people often don't know how to help. The more specific your husband can be about the kind of help he wants from each person, the more helpful that person can be. For example, if he can say something like, "I have been having difficulty getting in to xyz company, and I know that they have been a client of yours for years. Is there someone there you could refer me to, so that I at least schedule an informational or exploratory interview?"

Some of your husband's colleagues may put him off when it comes to scheduling a time to get together. If so, as a "fall back" position, he can at least suggest he send his resume as a follow up. He can ask his colleague for feedback on his resume, and to hold on to it, so that the individual has more information about your husband professionally.

Your husband should stay in touch with each person in his network, perhaps once a month. He will need to create excuses for contact in some instances, for example, like sending a link to an article of mutual interest or a notice of an upcoming professional seminar or a product launch.

It may feel forced at first but the reality is that people do want to help. The pay-offs for your husband will be enormous: The more he takes control of his network, the stronger his network will be, and the better he will feel about himself and his job prospects.

It's OK to ask about vacation days, tuition
Q. I was recently offered a job at a good salary, but there are two things are bothering me: The hiring manager mentioned that the vacation is four weeks, but then my hiring letter said I get 18 vacation days. I assumed that four weeks meant 20, not 18 vacation days. Also, I was planning to start working part time toward my MBA in January, but tuition assistance doesn't kick in for a year. I don't want to wait that long, especially as I think that I could benefit on-the-job from the courses that I'm planning to take. Is there any way I can negotiate about these things? I don't want to start off on the wrong foot with my new employer, but I don't want to start out feeling resentful either.

A Almost everything and anything, not just salary, is negotiable. It never hurts to ask. So, don't hesitate to negotiate with the hiring manager about tuition assistance and vacation days. Your requests are reasonable.

Schedule a meeting with the hiring manager to calmly state your case and ask for 20 vacation days and an earlier start date for tuition assistance.

Although you might think that tuition assistance is one of those benefits that would be applied equally to all employees, often individual supervisors have considerable latitude in how they appropriate benefits in their department.

You can make a compelling case that the company's tuition dollars would be well spent, as the course work you are planning to pursue is directly relevant to your job.

An enlightened employer would recognize that a better-educated employee would be a more valuable employee to the department and to the company, especially if you were willing to pursue the classes outside of your scheduled work time.

There was a discrepancy concerning the number of vacation days. The hiring manager might be inclined, to gain your trust and good will, to grant you the two extra days of vacation if he is able to. The only way that you will know this for certain is to ask.

Roni F. Noland is a career counselor/coach in private practice. She can be reached at rfnoland@comcast.net. E-mail questions to jobdoc@globe.com or mail to Job Doc, Boston Globe, Box 55819, Boston, 02205-5819.