Back in April, I wrote here about a worrisome development on the employment front: employers refusing to consider unemployed candidates for job openings.
Back then, the subject was largely confined to the realm of rumor and hearsay, though even then, some examples of the practice had been reported in the press.
The issue has exploded since then. Now, ads with phrases like 'Qualified candidates must be currently employed' are not hard to find at all. In fact, I just lifted that phrase verbatim from a job opening from a popular online classified ad site. (Like last time, I could not find any such listings in a quick search of PhillyJobs.com, but this time, I suspect it may be because I did not search hard enough or in the right manner.)
Right now, job seekers who have been out of work for a while - and with the average length of unemployment now at nine months, there are a lot of them - have little recourse if they should find themselves shut out of job opportunities for this reason, for employment status is not a protected category under current discrimination law.
With the issue now capturing the attention of politicians and major media - The New York Times reported on the practice July 25 - that may change. Already, New Jersey has passed a law barring employers from running help-wanted ads that require candidates to be employed, and two other states are contemplating similar laws. A bill that would outlaw discrimination in hiring based on employment status has also been introduced in Congress and is currently in committee.
Unfortunately, the rise of this practice is a sign of the times: in the boom times of the 1990s, by contrast, even convicted felons could find jobs easily. Now, however, it's a buyer's market when it comes to employment, and with so many sellers offering their labor for sale, the buyers are doing whatever they can to keep the flow of resumes into their inboxes to a manageable level. This strategy, however, shuts out millions of job candidates who have valuable skills to offer and are eager to offer them.
What have you found as you peruse offerings on PhillyJobs and other career communities? What is your opinion of this practice? Do you agree or disagree that there oughta be a law? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Sandy Smith is a veteran freelance writer, editor and public relations professional who lives in Philadelphia. Besides blogging for PhillyJobs.com, he has written for numerous publications and websites, would be happy to do your resume, and is himself actively seeking career opportunities on Beyond.com. Check out his LinkedIn profile and read his other posts on PhillyJobsBlog.com.
Making this practice illegal is a start...but it doesn't mean that employers won't still toss out resumes from the unemployed. What we need is a federal program (like the old WPA) to help put unemployed people into meaningful, useful, productive work! Private employers won't do anything to help us.
ReplyDeleteI think that is a good idea, but good luck getting that enacted when the talk is all about cutting spending in Washington and state governments are also cutting back.
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