There are some things you just don’t say—especially in a work environment. It seems like this restaurant manager, who interviewed a job candidate, didn’t get the memo or simply lacks basic politeness.
Legally, there are several things that a future employer can’t ask you about because it might cause them to consciously or unconsciously discriminate against you in the hiring process.
Among the off-limits topics are basics like your age, race, and religion, and others like your marital status, whether you plan to have kids, if you have a disability (though they can ask if you’d need reasonable accommodation to do the job), and your gender or sexual orientation.
These are all things that don’t affect your ability to do a job. Still, some people may have their own preconceived notions, like whether a parent would put in fewer hours at work than a person with no kids, or they could simply be prejudiced against, say, a certain religion or sexual orientation.
On the federal level, this is all protected (and enforced) by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, plus some states and local municipalities have their own additional protections.
In a viral TikTok with about a quarter million views, Madison Beard (@madisonlbeard) shared how an interviewer recently crossed the line with an interview question.
Beard was interviewing for a server role, and it seemed to be going fine until the woman interviewing her paused and asked if she could ask her something. (This is a weird thing to say given that it’s assumed an interviewer will pepper you with questions).
“In my head I was preparing for her to ask something professional,” Beard says in the clip. “But then she proceeded to ask me what was wrong with my teeth.”
Stunned, Beard gave an honest answer, stating that her parents couldn’t afford for her to get braces. But when the woman got up to grab something, Beard left.
“Probably the rudest question Ive ever been asked during an interview gotta save up for braces now smh,” Beard says.
@madisonlbeard Probably the rudest question Ive ever been asked during an interview 🥲 gotta save up for braces now smh #fyp #jobinterview #rude ♬ queen of disaster with sparkles – ˚ ˚｡° ⋆♡˚🎀 ꒰ ྀི ◞ ˕ ก ꒱ ⭐️
The video has hundreds of comments, and many of them are people sharing similar stories or agreeing that it was an inappropriate interview question.
“I’d have asked her how my teeth’s appearance is related to the job performance and watched her panic,” the top comment with 2,000 likes read.
“I had a college professor pull me aside and ask if there was anything that could be done about my teeth because it was distracting. almost 20 years ago and I’ll never forget it gave me a complex,” a person shared.
“I got a quote for braces, $8000.00 in full – up front, not covered by insurance-a lot of people can’t afford it,” another added.
“I would’ve stayed to ask her district managers name but that’s all omg i’m so sorry,” a commenter wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to Beard for comment via Instagram direct message.
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