If you are conducting interviews to bring on a new employee, you may want to simply learn more about them and see if they are a good fit for the business. This could lead you to ask questions about their family life, such as asking if they are married, if they have children and things of this nature.
As an employer, it is important to remember that there are topics you simply cannot broach during an interview. If you ask the wrong questions, you could put yourself at risk of being accused of discrimination, even if that was not your intent.
Asking about children
For instance, say that you ask a prospective employee if she has any children, and she tells you that she does not. However, she does note that she recently got married and that she and her spouse are thinking of having children. She has always wanted to start a family, so it is one of her life goals.
If you then hire a different employee, that female applicant may accuse you of sex or pregnancy discrimination. She may believe she is being discriminated against because of her plans to become pregnant, and she may accuse you as the employer of simply trying to avoid maternity leave or other reasonable accommodations that come along with pregnancy.
Now, you may argue that this was never your intent and that you just went with a more qualified candidate. But the best way to avoid these types of complications is simply to avoid asking problematic questions in the first place.
In some cases, though, disputes are going to arise. Both employers and employees need to understand their rights and legal options.