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What Is Unemployment Discrimination?

What Is Unemployment Discrimination?

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Unemployment discrimination is at an epidemic level affecting millions of unemployed job applicants every day. You could be one of this constantly growing number. Here are some facts about the problem, and a guide to understanding whether you have been impacted, or may be at a later date.

1. What Is Unemployment Discrimination?

This occurs when an employer refuses to consider individuals for a job opening who are currently unemployed or have been for a period, and there is no other reason to justify refusing to interview the applicant. Employers and recruiters who deliberately screen out unemployed people from the hiring process are committing unemployment discrimination.

Employers argue that there are valid reasons for not considering unemployed individuals in the hiring process. As an example, many employers will argue that large gaps in an applicant’s work history could indicate that the applicant is not up-to-date in technology innovations or new developments in the field they are seeking to enter or re-enter.

2. How Serious Is Unemployment Discrimination?

It is a very serious problem that impacts many lives and families of millions of out-of-work people who are capable of doing the job, and even doing it better in many cases. A stigma exists in the employment industry which holds that these individuals must somehow be responsible for their plight. Potential employers have conceived all types of reasons to avoid looking at the people who have been laid off and then began looking for another job. Studies have been done indicating applicants who have been unemployed for just one month are seen by HR professionals as less likely to be good workers when they apply for a job. These studies are flawed and biased, and they have been conducted with the proper sampling required to establish baseline data. As you can imagine, this bias worsens among HR professionals the longer the applicants are out-of-work.

3. What Laws Protect The Unemployed From Hiring Discrimination?

Currently, there are no federal or state laws against discrimination in the hiring process based on an applicant’s unemployment status; i.e., they are not a protected class. This means that unemployed people do not have any standing in the eyes of the courts for using the currently available discrimination statutes.

4. What State Laws Protect The Unemployed From Discrimination Based On Their Lack Of A Job

A dozen states have tried and failed to enact laws making some forms of unemployment discrimination illegal. Currently, three states that have passed legislation protecting the unemployed. California is not one of the three states. Of the three states, New York has passed the toughest anti-discrimination statue.

5. What You Can Do To Prevent Unemployment Discrimination From Denying You A Job Opportunity?

>Take steps to be current in your field. Attend seminars, product reviews, and keep up with the current literature in your field. Take advantage of every opportunity to network within these activities.

> Try to present papers at seminars directed toward educating your field on the latest technical advances.

> Minimize the lack of a steady employment record by getting help from a professional resume builder. Also consider filling in the blanks with recent training opportunities you have taken advantage of.

If you, or someone you know, are facing legal issues in the workplace United Employees Law Group has answers, Call Today for your free and confidential case review. Please feel free to CONTACT US with any questions about this blog or your exact situation.


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