Controversies surrounding the processing of certain types of personal data of candidates for employees at the request of a potential employer The article discusses the topic of obtaining by employers information concerning their future employees in the provisions on the protection of personal data applicable in Poland. The main research problem is to determine whether the processing of personal data of candidates for employees at the request of a potential employer has been regulated in the provisions of the Labor Code in a way that allows for their unambiguous interpretation and does not create an opportunity to discriminate candidates for employees in the course of recruitment processes. The first part of the article describes the general principles of the processing of personal data of candidates for employees and the general principles of the protection of personal data of candidates for employees processed at the request of a potential employer. The following sections focus on more detailed problems, such as: the processing of personal data of a candidate for an employee regarding education, professional qualifications and the course of previous employment, or the processing by a potential employer of the date of birth and PESEL number and residence address of a candidate for an employee. The summing-up includes the most important de lege lata and de lege ferenda conclusions resulting from the conducted considerations.