[dragonwriter]

> There are ways to ask those without being illegal

Strictly speaking, its not illegal to ask the question. However, because it is illegal to base hiring decisions on it, asking the question is legally dangerous in two ways:

(1) Asking the question in an employment interview is evidence which can tend to support that you intended to use it in a hiring decision, and

(2) The interviewee answering the question is evidence that you had the information, and thus the opportunity to use it in a hiring decision.

As a result, the usual legal advice is to strictly avoid asking the question: you can’t legally use the response, and by asking it you make yourself unnecessarily vulnerable. The idea that it is illegal to ask the question is probably a consequence of this.

[dllthomas]

I guess it might not be fraud for the employee to lie about it, too, since it can't be material, riiight?