Everyone knows it's illegal not to hire someone based on their gender, religious beliefs, national origin, color, and race. However, human resource personnel do it all the time.
If someone walks into an interview wearing a cross/crucifix, the person knows he/she is a Christian and that could be a strike against them.
If a young girl comes in and during the conversation confesses she's a newly wed, that means she might be getting pregnant soon and will take maternity leave.
If an older woman comes in and sees a family picture on the desk of the human resource's personnel, she might confess she has a family too, with three youngsters heading off to elementary school soon. That means if her kids get sick, she'll be taking lots of sick days.
And probably the worst would be a person of color walking into the office of someone who is prejudice and won't get the job.
But aren't these things illegal? They sure are but human resources personnel are not going to admit anything. Their standard answer when you call to see if you got the job is, "You weren't a good fit for the team we were hiring for."
What the hell does that mean? It means they can refuse to hire you for any number of reasons and get away with it.
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