New bill would ban anti-jobless discrimination

We've toldyou about how some employers are posting job ads warning the unemployed not to apply--placing yet another hurdle in the path of the more than 14 million jobless Americans looking for work.

When we asked readers who've been out of work for a while to share their experiences, this kind of discrimination against the jobless, whether overt or covert, was a frequent theme.

Now, efforts to ban the practice are heating up. A bill introduced by a group of Democratic senators would would prohibit employers and employment agencies from excluding or screening out job applicants just because they're out of work. A similar bill already has been introduced in the House.

A recent report by the National Employment Law Project, a labor-backed group, found numerous examples of online job ads telling the jobless not to apply. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has held hearings to determine whether the practice may already be illegal. Hiring discrimination on the basis of race is illegal, and discrimination against the jobless appears to disproportionately affect racial minorities.

The practice particularly impacts the long-term unemployed--defined as those who have been out of work for more than six months. They make up around 6.3 million, or 45 percent, of the total jobless.

New Jersey recently became the first state to outlaw hiring discrimination against the unemployed.