Imagine this hypothetical scenario: you’re a small business owner who needs to fill an open position at your company. After sorting through resumes and interviewing four candidates, you hire the one you think will be the right fit for the job. Your new employee joins your team, and business continues as usual.

Three weeks later, you’re notified that one of the candidates you didn’t choose is suing you for discrimination. After reading this, you may think, “How is that even possible?”

Whether you are hiring your first employee or are looking to fill an existing position, there are certain things you should never ask a job candidate — even if the questions seem like innocent “small talk.”

To help protect you and your business during your next interview, we’re breaking down the questions you should steer clear of, courtesy of the experts at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The information below gives you a good launching point to reexamine your HR hiring practices and ensure you’re asking the right interview questions that won’t put you and your company at risk.

Just keep in mind that hiring rules and regulations can be complicated. They also can vary by situation. If you have specific questions or need professional input on what you can or cannot ask, it’s always best to consult a lawyer for legal advice tailored to your business or situation.

QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD NEVER ASK IN A JOB INTERVIEW

Anything that has to do with a disability:

The Americans with Disabilities Act provides civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities and guarantees them equal opportunity across a spectrum of areas, including employment. So you legally cannot ask questions about an apparent disability, or ask questions fishing for one.

This includes questions like:

• Why do you need to use a wheelchair?
• How did you lose your vision?
• What medications do you take?
• Have you previously filed any workers’ compensation claims?

The exception to this rule has to do with accommodations. The EEOC states that you can ask questions about any accommodations that the candidate may need if the disability is apparent or if he or she already disclosed it to you, such as:

• If they need help with the application process, or if you need to make any adjustments to the process for them.
• If they will need a change to the work environment or to the way work is typically done for their job.

Anything concerning a job candidate’s genetic information:

It sounds a bit highbrow, but stay with us. The EEOC defines genetic information as “information about an individual’s genetic tests and the genetic tests of an individual’s family members, as well as information about the manifestation of a disease or disorder in an individual’s family members.”

This includes details such as family medical history or tests the candidate has undergone to identify risks for diseases like cancer. Asking these types of questions is considered genetic information discrimination.

The EEOC gives a few examples of what these could look like:

• Does anyone in your family have a history of mental illness?
• Has anyone in your family been diagnosed with a heart condition?

Anything related to the personal attributes of a job candidate:

You might think that you’re trying to get to know someone better, but characteristics like race, color, religion, sex and national origin are legally protected by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

You should avoid talking about these topics entirely. This includes questions like:

• Where do you go to church?
• Are you pregnant? Or are you planning on starting a family any time soon?
• How old are you? (Note: the only scenario in which you can ask this question is if you’re confirming that the candidate is legally old enough to do the job.)
• Your name is unusual. Where are you from?
• What kind of religious holidays do you observe?
• What language (or languages) do you speak at home?
• Are you biracial?

The bottom line is, if you’re on the fence about whether a question is appropriate, it’s probably best to avoid it. Instead, keep your questions focused on the requirements of the position for which you’re hiring.

BUSINESS INSURANCE THAT WORKS AS HARD AS YOU DO

You’ve worked hard to build your business and your team. But these days, hiring, firing and day-to-day employee management can be risky. If a claim is made against your business, you could spend valuable time and resources defending it. And many business owners may not realize—or may realize too late—that they have a gap in their insurance coverage.

Employment Practices Liability (EPL) coverage from Erie Insurance can protect you when facing charges alleging discrimination, wrongful termination or harassment from an employment candidate or a current or former employee—even if the charges aren’t true. It’s your line of defense against those who pose a serious threat to your bottom line and your business’s reputation. All it takes is purchasing and adding the coverage to your business policy as an endorsement.

But I thought I was doing so well!

I’ve been here for 30 years. You’re just telling me this now?

Susan comes in late every day, and she’s never been written up. What gives?

Let’s face it: If you’re a business owner or a manager, employee performance appraisals can be uncomfortable. No one likes to receive a “surprise” evaluation that they’re not performing well. What’s more, if you ignore a small issue with an employee now, it could eventually snowball into a bigger problem later… at worst, it could result in an employment lawsuit.

5 WAYS TO ADDRESS POOR PERFORMANCE WITH AN EMPLOYEE

Having an established and documented employee performance review can help your business avoid costly discrimination lawsuits. If an employee is underperforming, here’s how to handle it.

• Be direct and honest. First things first: A poor performance review should never come as a “surprise.” Good managers address poor performance directly when it happens—and always with transparency and empathy.
• Be consistent. Consistency is key to avoiding claims of discrimination. Make sure you’re holding all your employees to the same standard. For example: If you discipline a low-performing employee for being late, don’t look the other way if a high-performing employee comes in late. (Related: Are you covered when an employee claims harassment or discrimination?)
• Keep it objective. Hold your employees to an objective standard that they know and have agreed to—for example, an attendance policy or employee handbook. Ensure there’s a legitimate business reason for discipline and avoid the temptation to provide overly subjective feedback.
• Write it down. Document every action you take during the disciplinary process, including verbal warnings. Writing it down gives you credibility and lets the employee know the specifics of how to improve their performance and what consequences are at stake if they don’t. For serious or final warnings, ask your employee to sign and date the document and add a space for them to comment with feedback.
• Know when to ask for help. If you feel over your head, reach out to a trusted mentor who has handled employee conduct issues before. And if things get really complicated, contact a human resources or legal professional who knows the ins and outs of employment law.

HOW CAN I PROTECT MY BUSINESS AGAINST DISCRIMINATION OR HARASSMENT LAWSUITS?

Imagine a worst-case scenario: An employee sues your business for sexual harassment or discrimination (for example, on the basis of age, sex, race or disability). Unfortunately, these types of lawsuits do happen and even if the allegations are found to be groundless, responding to charges like these can cost thousands of dollars.

You can help protect your business by adding Employment Practices Liability (EPL) coverage to your business insurance policy. Most standard EPL insurance policies offer a measure of protection against lawsuits brought against your business by employees alleging wrongful acts (sexual harassment or discrimination) or wrongful termination. You can purchase and add the coverage to your business policy as an endorsement. Learn more about our custom solutions for business insurance.

A data breach is not something that just happens to mega retailers – small businesses are also at risk. From customers’ credit card numbers to employee tax information, it’s likely that your small business handles sensitive data on a regular basis. (Learn how to keep data safe in this related blog post.)

All it takes is one convincing phishing email or a stolen laptop for that sensitive data to get into the wrong hands. Here are five surprising things to know about small business data breaches – and how you can protect yourself.

DATA BREACHES: WHAT SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS SHOULD KNOW

1. They affect any business, large or small: In 2020, almost a third of data breaches involved small businesses, according to Small Business Trends. Larger businesses might have the money and resources to help them recover, but smaller companies face greater challenges in the recovery process.
2. They’re costly. If several records are compromised, you could easily be looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses. These expenses can include legal fees; costs to upgrade or replace your POS system (depending on the source of the breach) or even a forensic examination. Some of the more serious small business data breaches have led businesses to close. For those that do stay open, it can be costly to repair the damage to their reputation and restore customers’ trust.
3. They have multiple causes.  Small businesses can experience a data breach in a number of different ways. In 2020, 70% of breaches were caused by external sources. Phishing scams top the list. Phishing is a tactic scammers use to contact others by email, phone or text– acting as a legitimate institution – to lure them into providing sensitive data.  Another popular method for hackers is to install spyware to get into your system to steal private information.
4. They can take a while to detect. The complexity of today’s technology combined with the sophistication of many hackers can make a data breach fly under the radar for weeks or even months. It can be hard for a small business, lacking the resources that many big businesses have, to uncover a breach.
5. If it happens to you, take action and alert those involved. It’s important to let your customers and employees know what’s going on. Be transparent and be prepared to address any questions from affected individuals. Several states even require that businesses contact any individuals whose private, nonpublic information is exposed through a data breach. For trusted advice, read this guide to data breach response for business owners from the Federal Trade Commission.

PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS WITH BUSINESS DATA BREACH COVERAGE FROM ERIE

Having the right data security procedures in place can help reduce the risk of small business data breaches – but a data breach can still happen.

Here’s the good news: A business insurance policy from ERIE can help protect you with specialized coverage to get things back to normal.

In the midst of this pandemic, you may have found yourself among the 63 percent of Americans working from home. A recent Gartner poll predicts that 48 percent of workers will continue to work remote at least part time even when it’s safe to physically return to work again.

Of course, working from home has pros and cons. It also raises serious questions like what would happen if an employee becomes injured while performing work at home.

Workers’ compensation (often shortened to workers’ comp) laws and requirements vary by state, but generally, any business that has employees must have workers’ compensation insurance coverage. It helps cover medical care and lost wages for an employee who is hurt at work.

With many employees working from the kitchen table or the home office, it helps to know how workers’ compensation can kick in. (As always, talk to your local ERIE agent for questions about your specific policy.)

WILL WORKERS’ COMPENSATION COVER AN EMPLOYEE IF THEY GET INJURED WHILE WORKING FROM HOME?

If an employee is hurt on work premises, they’re typically covered by the employer’s workers’ compensation policy. Workers’ compensation provides coverage for injury or disease employees sustain in the course and scope of employment. It applies regardless of negligence, with workers’ compensation laws varying by state.

Most telecommuters are still covered under their employers’ workers’ compensation coverage, whether full-time remote workers or temporary due to pandemic stay-at-home orders.

“It’s important to remember that workers’ compensation insurance isn’t tied to a building,” says Leo Heintz, vice president of commercial products at ERIE. “It follows you wherever you go, subject to the policy conditions, while you’re at work.”

WHAT ARE COMMON INJURIES THAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN WORKING FROM HOME?

Common injuries telecommuting office workers experience include carpal tunnel syndrome; back sprains and strains; and slips, trips and falls. The injury or disease typically has to arise out of a work-related activity to be covered under workers’ comp.

“Injuries are possible even if you have a desk job,” Heintz said. “That’s why it’s important to practice the same good ergonomic activities at your home office as you do when at your regular office. Simple things like good posture and remembering to take time and stretch, or getting up and walking around, can make all the difference.”