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Discriminatory Job Ads: Wording to Avoid

Write the job. Not the person.

Federal law reaches the words in a job ad, not just the hire. Here are the phrases that cause trouble, and the plainer lines that replace them.

Get my free hiring planSee the words to avoid

Last reviewed November 2026 against the laws and agency pages. Not legal advice; your counsel decides.

Short answer

Checked November 8, 2026.

The ruleFederal law bars job ads that show a preference for, or discourage, people because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age 40 or older, disability or genetic information.1

The trapsThe EEOC's own examples are ads seeking "females" or "recent college graduates".1 Age hints, "he" or "she", "able-bodied", "native English speaker" and "no felonies" cause trouble too.

The fixDescribe the job, not the person: its tasks, pay, shift and the skills it truly needs.

The federal rule

EEOC job ad rules, in the agency's own words.

The EEOC enforces the main federal laws against job discrimination. Its page on prohibited practices puts the job-ad rule plainly:

It is illegal for an employer to publish a job advertisement that shows a preference for or discourages someone from applying for a job because of his or her race, color, religion, sex (including transgender status, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. For example, a help-wanted ad that seeks "females" or "recent college graduates" may discourage men and people over 40 from applying and may violate the law.1

EEOC, Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices · read November 8, 2026

It's written into the laws themselves. Title VII bars any job notice or ad "indicating any preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination" based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.2 The federal age law uses the same words for age, and protects people 40 and older.3

Title VII has one narrow exception, for religion, sex or national origin: an ad may state such a preference only when the trait is a "bona fide occupational qualification for employment".2 That's rare. Ask counsel before you rely on it.

Age discrimination in job ads.

The EEOC's age rule goes further than its examples. Job ads "may not contain terms and phrases that limit or deter the employment of older individuals." It names "age 25 to 35, young, college student, recent college graduate, boy, girl", plus terms "of a similar nature".4 The same rule lets ads prefer older workers, with words like "retirees".4

Who these rules cover.

15+

employees

Title VII and the disability law (the ADA).5

20+

employees

The federal age law (the ADEA).5

4+

employees

The Justice Department's citizenship-status and national origin rules,6 and New York City's law.7

State and city laws often reach smaller employers than the federal ones do, so check each place you hire.

Recruiting counts as well. The EEOC says recruiting in a way that discriminates is illegal too.1 So the words are half the job. Who sees the ad is the other half (section 04).

Words to avoid

Job ad words to avoid, and what to write instead.

Each row is a common phrase to review: why it can be a problem, a plainer line, and the rule behind it. The plainer lines are our sample wording, so use your job's real duties and numbers. A match is a prompt to review, not a verdict. Context matters, and your counsel decides.

Phrase to review
Why it can be a problem
Write instead
Age"recent graduates", "new grads", "college student"
WhyIt's the EEOC's own example of an ad that may put off people over 40.EEOC129 CFR 1625.44
Write insteadName the level: "Entry level. No experience needed. We train you."
Age"young", "youthful", "boy", "girl"
WhyThe federal age rule names "young", "boy" and "girl". "Youthful" is a term "of a similar nature".29 CFR 1625.44
Write insteadDescribe the work: "Fast-paced work. On your feet for most of the shift."
Age"digital native"
WhyIt points at a generation, not a skill. The rule covers terms "of a similar nature".29 CFR 1625.44
Write insteadName the skill: "Comfortable using a tablet and a handheld scanner."
Age"ages 18 to 25", "under 35"
WhyAn age limit is an age preference, and the age law bars ads that state one.29 U.S.C. 623(e)3
Write insteadLeave age out. If a law sets a minimum age for the job, state that rule.
National origin"native English speaker", "no accent"
WhyThe Justice Department lists "Native English Speakers only" as national origin discrimination. A fluency rule is allowed only if the job needs it.DOJ6EEOC8
Write insteadIf the job needs it, name the task: "Fluent spoken English needed to explain products to customers."
Sex"he will", "she must"
WhyIt assumes the worker's sex, so it can read as a preference.29 CFR 1604.59
Write insteadWrite to the reader: "You will…"
Sex"women only", "men preferred", "seeking a female"
WhyIt states a preference based on sex. That's lawful only in the rare case where sex is a real job qualification.EEOC1Title VII2
Write insteadDescribe the job, not who should do it.
Sex"salesman", "foreman", "waitress", "busboy"
WhyA gendered job title suggests who should apply.29 CFR 1604.59
Write insteadA neutral title: sales associate, crew supervisor, server, busser.
Disability"able-bodied", "physically fit", "good physical health"
WhyIt can put off people with disabilities who can do the job's essential functions, with or without an accommodation.ADA10
Write insteadName the task: "Lifts boxes up to 50 pounds, several times an hour."
Citizenship"U.S. citizens only", "citizenship required", "green card holders only", "H-1Bs only"
WhyThe Justice Department says to avoid these unless a law, regulation, executive order or government contract requires them.DOJ6IER letter11
Write insteadLeave it out. If you need to ask, use the question the Justice Department calls appropriate: "Are you legally authorized to work in the United States?"
Criminal history"no felonies", "clean record", "background check required"
WhyNew York City bars all three in job ads. California bars "No Felons" and "Must Have Clean Record" for most employers. Other places have their own fair-chance rules. The EEOC withdrew its criminal-records guidance in October 2026; Title VII did not change.NYC7California12EEOC13
Write insteadLeave it out, unless a law requires a check for this role. Then ask counsel how and when to say so. New York City allows "People with criminal histories are encouraged to apply."
Free tool Paste an ad. See the wording to review. Our job ad checker flags most of these phrases as "to review" and shows the plainer line. It never calls an ad illegal. Its list is short and English only, so a person still reads every ad. Try the job ad checker

Every plainer line does the same thing. It describes the job.

Its tasks, its schedule and the skills it needs. Our guide on how to write a job ad puts those facts in order, with a template.

Physical requirements

Physical requirements: write them as job duties.

Some jobs are physical. Say so, plainly. The trouble is vague words about the person, such as "able-bodied". They can put off people with disabilities who could do the work.

The ADA protects a "qualified individual": someone who, "with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions" of the job. A written job description prepared "before advertising or interviewing" counts as evidence of those essential functions.10 So the ad and the job description should match.

The EEOC's ADA manual advises that job ads "include information on the essential functions of the job." It also says a listed duty isn't essential if people in the job never or seldom do it.14

Instead of

"Must be physically fit"

Write the duty

"Stands and walks for most of an 8-hour shift."

Instead of

"Good physical health required"

Write the duty

"Climbs a ladder up to 12 feet to reach top shelves."

Instead of

"Driver's license required", for a job with no driving

Write the duty

Nothing. List it only when the job includes driving.

Sample wording. Use the duties, weights and times your job really has.

Two more lines help. First, tell people how to ask for an accommodation to apply. The EEOC says an employer must provide one unless it causes "significant difficulty or expense".1 Second, many employers add an equal opportunity line. The EEOC's ADA manual gives a sample.14

Two lines for the end of every adSample wording

Accommodation

Need an accommodation to apply? Contact our hiring team and we'll help.

Equal opportunity · the EEOC's sample

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin or disability.

Healthcare jobs often list physical duties, such as moving patients. Write those as tasks too. More in our guide on how to recruit nurses.

Who sees the ad

Clean words aren't enough. Who sees the ad matters too.

The EEOC's national origin guidance names one risk: "sending job postings only to ethnically or racially homogenous areas or audiences". That can violate Title VII when the purpose, or the unjustified effect, is to exclude people.8 Online, ad targeting is where that can happen.

Meta and Google both limit how job ads can be aimed in the US:15

MetaEmployment special ad category
  • No age choice: fixed at 18 to 65+
  • No gender choice
  • No ZIP codes
  • No lookalike audiences or detailed-targeting exclusions
  • US and Canada: each location covers at least a 15-mile radius
GoogleEmployment ads · US and Canada
  • No targeting by gender or age
  • No targeting by parental or marital status
  • No ZIP codes
  • Radius, city and country targeting allowed
  • A radius of at least 1 km

These limits cover how an ad is aimed. They don't check the words in it. Our guide to job ad targeting rules on Meta and Google walks through the settings.

How we run it

Inside the rules. From day one.

We build Facebook recruitment ads inside Meta's Employment category and Google Ads for recruiting inside Google's employment-ad rules. Senior people run your campaigns, and nothing runs until you say yes.

AI-drafted ads

AI-drafted job ads: a person reads every one.

Job ads often start as an AI draft, and some ad platforms write ad text for you. A draft can repeat old habits, such as "young team" or "salesman", picked up from the ads and notes it learned from. The employer is still responsible for the finished ad, whoever drafted it.2

Two states already name automated tools in their civil rights rules:

IllinoisIn force since Jan 1, 2026

Employers may not use AI "that has the effect of subjecting employees to discrimination", in recruitment and hiring among other steps. They may not "use zip codes as a proxy for protected classes". And they must give notice when they use AI this way.16

The state withdrew its proposed notice rules in June 2026, so the details of that notice aren't set yet.17

CaliforniaIn force since Oct 1, 2025

The state's civil rights rules cover automated-decision systems. Their examples include systems that direct job ads to targeted groups. Using one that discriminates against a protected group can break the law.18

Review steps before any AI draft runs.

  1. Check every fact against the job posting: title, pay, shift and location.
  2. Read it against the phrase list above. Watch for age hints, "he" or "she", and vague physical words.
  3. Remove any citizenship or criminal-history line that no law requires.
  4. If the platform writes text, set exclusions. Google's text guidelines (beta) work in Performance Max and in Search with AI Max, with up to 25 term exclusions and 40 messaging restrictions per campaign.19
  5. Record who approved the final ad, and when.

AI draft

Join our young, energetic team. The ideal salesman is a digital native and a native English speaker. Must be able-bodied. No felonies.

6 phrases to review

YOUR BRANDSample ad · after review

Sales associate

You help customers on the floor and at the register. You check stock on a tablet. You lift boxes up to 30 pounds. Fluent spoken English needed to explain products to customers. People with criminal histories are encouraged to apply. Need an accommodation to apply? Email our hiring team.

Tasks, skills and an open door

A made-up AI draft and its reviewed version. Same job. Now it describes the work, not the worker.

Checklist

A checklist for non-discriminatory job ads.

Paste it into your ad approval step. Run it on the final text, after the last edit.

  • Age. No age hints ("young", "recent grads", "digital native") and no age limits.
  • Pronouns and titles. "You" for the worker, and a neutral job title.
  • Sex. No preference for men or women, unless counsel confirms a narrow legal exception.
  • Language. A fluency line only where the job needs it, tied to the task.
  • Physical demands. Written as tasks, with weights and times, matching the job description.
  • Citizenship. None, unless a law, regulation, executive order or government contract requires it.
  • Criminal history. No "no felonies"-type lines. Fair-chance rules checked for each place you hire.
  • Accommodation. The ad says how to ask for one to apply.
  • Targeting. Meta's Employment category on. Google demographics set to "Enable", with no ZIP codes.
  • Approval. A person read the final ad, and the approval is recorded with a date.
Copy the checklist

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Quick answers.

Anything else? A person replies within one business day.

Ask us anything

  • It's risky. The EEOC uses "recent college graduates" as its own example of an ad that may discourage people over 40, and its age rule lists "recent college graduate" among terms that violate the law unless an exception applies. Name the level instead: "Entry level. No experience needed."

  • Only when a law, regulation, executive order or government contract requires it, the Justice Department says. Even then, the posting should match that requirement and not exclude more people than it does. Otherwise, leave citizenship out. To ask about work authorization, the Justice Department calls this question appropriate: "Are you legally authorized to work in the United States?"

  • Not in New York City. The city names these as violations in job ads: "no felonies," "background check required" and "must have clean record." California bars most employers with five or more employees from "No Felons"-type statements in job postings. Other states and cities have their own fair-chance laws, so check each place you hire. New York City allows lines such as "People with criminal histories are encouraged to apply." The EEOC withdrew its 2012 guidance on arrest and conviction records in October 2026. Title VII itself did not change.

  • It can be. Federal law bars job ads that indicate an age preference, and the EEOC says recruiting that discriminates by age is illegal. Meta and Google block age targeting for US job ads too: Meta fixes age at 18 to 65+, and Google blocks it in the US and Canada. Whether a specific setup breaks the law is a question for your counsel.

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  • What to fix in the job ads you run now

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Sources

Last reviewed November 2026. Not legal advice; your counsel decides.

Laws, agency pages and platform rules read on November 8, 2026. Quotes are as they appear on each page. The sample wording on this page is ours; use your job's real duties, numbers and counsel's advice.

EEOCJustice DepartmentU.S. CodeeCFRNew York CityCaliforniaIllinoisMetaGoogle

  1. 1U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, "Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices", live page, read Nov 8, 2026: the "Job Advertisements", "Recruitment" and "Application & Hiring" sections, quoted as on the page. The page shows no update date. eeoc.gov
  2. 2Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, section 704(b), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(b): notices or ads "indicating any preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination, based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin", with the bona fide occupational qualification exception for religion, sex or national origin. Read Nov 8, 2026. law.cornell.edu
  3. 3Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. § 623(e): no notice or advertisement "indicating any preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination, based on age." 29 U.S.C. § 631(a): the law protects people "at least 40 years of age." Read Nov 8, 2026. law.cornell.edu
  4. 4EEOC regulation, 29 CFR § 1625.4, "Help wanted notices or advertisements" (72 FR 36875, July 6, 2007), current eCFR text read Nov 8, 2026: the listed terms, "or others of a similar nature", and the allowance for ads that prefer older workers. ecfr.gov
  5. 5EEOC, "Coverage of Business/Private Employers", live page, read Nov 8, 2026: 15 or more employees for race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or genetic information; 20 or more for age (each for at least 20 calendar weeks this year or last). eeoc.gov
  6. 6U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER), "Best Practices for Recruiting and Hiring Workers", updated Dec 19, 2023, read Nov 8, 2026: avoid "Only U.S. Citizens", "Citizenship Required", "Only U.S. Citizens or Green Card Holders", "H-1Bs Only" and similar "unless legally required"; avoid "Native English Speakers only". The law is 8 U.S.C. § 1324b; IER handles national origin claims against employers with four to 14 employees, and the EEOC those with 15 or more. Its citizenship-status rule covers employers with four or more employees (source 11). justice.gov
  7. 7NYC Commission on Human Rights, "Fair Chance Act: Legal Enforcement Guidance", live page, read Nov 8, 2026: ads that state "any limitation or specification regarding criminal history" are a per se violation, including "no felonies," "background check required" and "must have clean record"; "People with criminal histories are encouraged to apply" is permissible; the NYC Human Rights Law covers employers with four or more employees; and (section VII.A) the Act does not apply to actions taken under a law that "requires criminal background checks for employment purposes or bars employment based on criminal history." nyc.gov
  8. 8EEOC, Enforcement Guidance on National Origin Discrimination, Nov 18, 2016, live, read Nov 8, 2026: an English fluency requirement "is permissible only if required for the effective performance of the position"; section V.A, accent discrimination: a decision may be based on accent if the accent "interferes materially with job performance"; recruiting by "sending job postings only to ethnically or racially homogenous areas or audiences" can violate Title VII. eeoc.gov
  9. 9EEOC guidelines on sex discrimination, 29 CFR § 1604.5, "Job opportunities advertising", current eCFR text read Nov 8, 2026: a help-wanted ad may not "indicate a preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination based on sex unless sex is a bona fide occupational qualification." ecfr.gov
  10. 10Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12111(8), "qualified individual", and the EEOC regulation 29 CFR § 1630.2(n), "essential functions" (evidence includes "written job descriptions prepared before advertising or interviewing applicants"). Read Nov 8, 2026. law.cornell.edu · ecfr.gov
  11. 11U.S. Department of Justice, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section, technical assistance letter, Sept 9, 2022: the two questions IER has identified as appropriate to ask applicants, starting with "Are you legally authorized to work in the United States?"; citizenship-status protection applies to employers with four or more employees. Read Nov 8, 2026. justice.gov
  12. 12California Civil Rights Department, "Criminal History and Employment Fact Sheet", June 2025: the Fair Chance Act covers private employers with five or more employees, and most employers cannot make statements in job postings that exclude people with criminal histories, "such as job advertisements that say 'No Felons' or 'Must Have Clean Record'." Regulation: Cal. Code Regs. tit. 2, § 11017.1(a)(2), operative Oct 1, 2023. Read Nov 8, 2026. calcivilrights.ca.gov
  13. 13U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, "EEOC Votes to Rescind Enforcement Guidance on Arrest and Conviction Records", press release, Oct 29, 2026, read Nov 8, 2026: the Commission rescinded its 2012 Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The EEOC Chair: "Title VII continues to prohibit discrimination based on race or national origin." eeoc.gov
  14. 14EEOC, A Technical Assistance Manual on the Employment Provisions (Title I) of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 1992, live, read Nov 8, 2026: section 5.2, "Job Advertisements and Notices", including the sample equal opportunity statement; and the typing example on functions that are "never or seldom" required. eeoc.gov
  15. 15Meta for Developers, Marketing API, "Special Ad Category", and Google Ads Help, "Employment in personalized advertising", live pages, read Nov 8, 2026. developers.facebook.com · support.google.com
  16. 16Illinois Public Act 103-0804 (HB 3773), amending the Illinois Human Rights Act, 775 ILCS 5/2-102(L), effective Jan 1, 2026. Full text read Nov 8, 2026. ilga.gov
  17. 17Ogletree Deakins (Jennifer L. Colvin, Simone R.D. Francis, Danielle Ochs and Zachary V. Zagger), "Illinois Postpones Proposed Regulations on AI in Employment", National Law Review, June 4, 2026: the Illinois Department of Human Rights announced on June 2, 2026 that it was withdrawing and postponing its proposed AI notice rules; the law itself took effect Jan 1, 2026. natlawreview.com
  18. 18California Civil Rights Council, employment regulations on automated-decision systems, Cal. Code Regs. tit. 2, § 11008.1(a)(1)(B) (such systems perform tasks such as "Directing job advertisements or other recruiting materials to targeted groups") and § 11009(f) (unlawful to use an automated-decision system that discriminates on a basis protected by the Act, subject to any available defense). Approved June 27, 2025; effective Oct 1, 2025. Final text read Nov 8, 2026. calcivilrights.ca.gov
  19. 19Google Ads Help, "Use text guidelines with Performance Max and Search campaigns (beta)", live page, read Nov 8, 2026: up to 25 term exclusions and 40 messaging restrictions per campaign; term exclusions are language-specific. support.google.com