Unemployment discrimination a growing problem

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When it comes to employment discrimination, there are some kinds of discrimination that are set in stone. That is that they are specifically protected against under either state or federal laws. Employees in New Jersey who suffer discrimination due to things such as religion, race or sex have recourse under the law. What about employment discrimination? Even as the economy begins its slow road to recovery, unemployment rates continue to remain at historically high levels. Part of the problem many people who are unemployed for either a long period or even a shorter one are finding out that the status is actually preventing them from getting a job. Many job applicants are being denied an interview without even knowing that their educational or experience qualifications are not what are preventing them from a face-to-face meeting. Many employers are eliminating people who for the sole reason that they currently do not hold a position elsewhere. Some employers have even instructed recruiters to throw out applications for anyone who has been unemployed for a specific period of time. That period of time was only six months for one company who actually told one applicant that it was her 13 months unemployment period that prevented her from getting an interview. "What they don't consider is that these are not normal times," said the applicant. In our next post, we will go into further detail about just what these abnormal times are and what some state legislators are considering in order to deal with the problem. Source: USA Today, "For long-unemployed, hiring bias rears its head," Stephen Singer, March 27, 2012