Legal Question in Employment Law in Illinois

Asking age on employment application

I'm applying for a city job. On the application, they require you to tell your date of birth and the year you graduated from high school. I see no reason that my age would be relevant for my job. If I put 0000 for the year, I'm afraid they won't call me. Is there a way for me to not write my date of birth or high school graduation date and still be assured that I'm not being discriminated against if they don't call me?


Asked on 8/07/07, 11:44 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lisa Yee

Re: Asking age on employment application

While standardized employment applications often ask for date of birth and/or date of graduation from high school, allowing an astute interviewer to ascertain the applicant's age, it is not, by itself, unlawful under the Age Discrimination Employment Act (ADEA). Request for such information must be for a permissible purpose and not for circumventing the purpose of the ADEA. While it would be better in the long run for the employer to avoid this type of practice but it is not illegal.

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Answered on 8/10/07, 3:52 pm


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