(no subject)

[faeriedebutante.livejournal.com]

I always thought they weren't allowed to ask questions about age, race, religion or gender on a job application unless job related, so why are there questions on there? must I answer them? in school when they asked those questions on standardized tests it had "optional" written beside it, so I could choose not to answer it. is it optional on applications but not stated as such? what's the deal?