DOB Hang-Up

Asking For Date of Birth For Employment Purposes

Dozens of people (and many personnel professionals) will tell you it’s illegal to ask for date of birth or high school/college graduation year in the hiring process.

Yet, when challenged, they’re unable to produce a copy of a law to that effect.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act states it’s illegal to discriminate against someone in the hiring process who is at least 40 years old because of his or her age.

There’s a huge difference between “illegal to ask about your age” and the assumed “illegal discrimination.”

In the risk management business, it’s difficult enough to assess risk without someone interpreting (incorrectly) for you.

In considering the balance of risk, many information sources will not release records unless date of birth is provided along with name and, often, Social Security Number.

This is true for driving records in about half the states and in many venues (along with sex and race), it’s required when requesting criminal records.

Date of birth can be used legally and fairly to obtain records of job-related information as defined by a written job description and supported by published policies.