One of the beauties of contract placements is that they happen FAST. Often interviews are conducted over the phone, and the contractor is at work within in a matter of days rather than the weeks or even months it can take with direct hires.

But don't let the quick nature of contract placements cause you or your clients to overlook legal interviewing techniques.  According to attorney Lisa Yankowitz, one staffing company learned this the hard way, settling a disability discrimination claim that arose from improper dialogue during an interview for $35,000.

This situation inspired Yankowitz's most recent Informed Workplace video on Interviewing Dos and Don'ts. In the video, Yankowitz goes over some of the basics of legally interviewing.

The bottom line is that you and your clients should never ask candidates, either directly or indirectly, about any conditions or circumstances that are protected by federal law, including disability, pregnancy, religion, ethnicity, gender, or race. Even if a candidate brings any of these topics up, you should not ask questions about them.

The video is only a little over two minutes long, so it is worth you and your clients' time to review these basic tips.

Debbie Fledderjohann is the President of Top Echelon Contracting, Inc.