Legal Question in Employment Law in California
Was this request out of line?
I answered an ad recently for a research related position from which I would work at home. I traded a few emails with him as well as including my resume which showed relevant experience related to the job itself. I finally get a phone call from him and this is where it went weird. He wanted me to send a picture of myself to him (I'm a female by the way) which I thought was a little creepy. He said it was for the purpose of ''getting a sense'' of me. I decided to show him my ''sense'' of humor by sending him a baby picture. He obviously didn't think it was too funny and replied back that since I didn't send anything current, I must not be interested in the job. I wasn't too upset since I had started to lose interest soon after he made his request and I had a feeling that I would probably blow it anyway by doing what I did. But was I wrong? Isn't that request a little out of line. What I look like has no bearing on whether I can do the job or not! Makes me wonder if he asks his male applicants for pictures as well. Just curious...
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Was this request out of line?
You were right to trust your gut feeling about this guy. Besides the fact that asking for your picture was "weird" and "creepy", it is also unlawful.
Prospective employers may not ask a job applicant about their personal characteristics, such as their age, race, gender and several other aspects of themslevs. By asking for a picture of you, he is clearly intending to exclude people who don't meet his personal preferences.
Keep those emails. They document evidence of his unlawful conduct which you can either use to file a complaint against him with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or meet with an employment law attorney to determine if other action is warranted.
Re: Was this request out of line?
Some times your bad luck is your good luck and it appears you are better off for not working with this employer. It also appears that the potential employer was intentend on screening employees based on characteristics which may have been based on discriminatory animus. This could lead to a right to bring a claim against this potential employer.
However, in such claims, your damages are based on the continued lost income thereafter. If you found a job immediately thereafter, you may have a hard time finding an attorney who will accept your case on a contingency fee basis.
Thus, even though there appears to be a violation, you must also look at the next step to see if there are lost wages as a result of his actions.
Regardless, he is sick, and any complaint you may file, with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission would be help to put him on notice that his conduct is unnacceptable.
Best of Luck. Sincerely, Beth Mora
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