ADMISSIONS LAWS, P.2

"You've got to remember that people on boards are regular people," Hankin says. "If someone says they haven't worked in 30 years, aren't you going to ask why? I had an applicant who looked like he was about 70 years old, and he was still working. During the interview, someone on the board asked, 'How old are you?' He was 72 years old, and the board turned him down on grounds of income. He worked at a Waldbaum's bagging groceries. He filed a complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights, but they found no probable cause and didn't proceed to a hearing."

The board had stepped on a land mine that didn't blow up.

To Interview or Not to Interview

Some lawyers advise boards not to interview an applicant they're prepared to reject on the basis of the application information. Others advise that the interview should be a formality.

"In general terms, one of the things I try to instruct boards is that the interview should be a rubber stamp, not a chance to get new information about financials or anything else," says Racht. It's an opportunity, she says, "to eyeball the applicant . . . to make sure they understand the rules or to find out their alteration plans. Maybe they'll talk about how they love to throw late-night parties," she says. "You can turn someone down just because you don't like them — but you can't overtly discriminate. Once you've seen someone, it opens the door for discrimination issues to give rise to complaints – about race, for example, or a handicap."

Racht advises boards to conduct all post-interview communication orally, never by e-mail — because e-mails can get sent to the wrong people, and they're discoverable in a legal proceeding.

Once you've tiptoed through the minefield, it's worth remembering that the interview is a conversation between people who might soon be neighbors. "You want to treat people the way you would want to be treated," Racht says. "The interview should not be a grilling. It should be a welcome to the building."

Within limits, of course.

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Illustration by  Marcellus Hall