When you apply for a new job, did you know that you already have some rights afforded to you? For example, it is illegal for an employer to discriminate against you during the hiring process based on many factors, including race, sex, disability and religion. There are many steps to the hiring process, and your potential employer may not discriminate at any stage of the process. However, there is a caveat with certain jobs that have a “BFOQ,” or bona fide occupational qualification, which basically means the trait in question is a necessity to the job itself.

There are many other rights that are afforded to you during the hiring process as well. When you are being interviewed, your interviewer is forbidden to ask certain questions, such as your marital status, your legal status in the U.S., or whether you have children or intend to have children in the future. Of course, if the job applicant raises any of these points in the form of a question, then the interviewer could answer them to the extent that is allowed.

If you are chosen to work at a new job, then congratulations! Your new employer will have to perform a lot of procedural work in the coming days and weeks to officially bring you on board — and here, again, you have many rights that need to be protected and upheld.

For example, if your employer makes certain promises during this time and they go unfulfilled, then your new employer could be guilty of violating an “implied contract.”

Source: FindLaw, “Legal Rights During the Hiring Process,” Accessed Sept. 20, 2015