To Ensure Jobless Persons’ Right To Work
City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, joined by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, City Council Members Leroy Comrie, Vincent Gentile and Deborah Rose and advocates gathered to announce the introduction of legislation that will prohibit employers from using a person’s job status in a hiring decision.
The proposed law will also ban “help-wanted” ads that state that the unemployed will not be considered for posted job openings. Quinn first announced the proposal, sponsored by Comrie and Gentile, during her State of the City address last month.
Since the economic downturn, officials have reported seeing several examples of job postings that require would-be candidates to be currently employed.
“While there are encouraging signs that our economy is beginning to improve, the recovery is still fragile and we must do more to help New Yorkers find work. Prohibiting employers from discriminating against the unemployed will end a practice that has kept too many of our city’s residents from applying for work they are qualified to do,” said Quinn. “The long-term unemployed face some of the bleakest job prospects in our economy and we can’t stand by and watch them be needlessly held back. That’s why we are introducing this legislation.”
New York City’s unemployment rate rose in January to a 16-month high of 9.3 percent, up from 9.1 percent in December-that’s one percentage point higher than the nationwide unemployment rate of 8.3 percent.
The situation is particularly damaging for low-income and minority populations, who have endured the worst of this recession. The unemployment rate for blacks is around 13.6 percent and 10 percent for Hispanics. Nationally, the long-term unemployed comprise almost 43 percent of the unemployed population.
Within this economic market, screening out job applicants based on their unemployment status prevents well-qualified New Yorkers from applying for jobs. Further, there is no evidence to prove that someone is unemployed is a predictor of job performance.
To address this situation, Comrie and Gentile will introduce legislation making it an unlawful discriminatory practice for employers to use unemployment status as a basis for a hiring decision.
Under this law, employers would still be permitted to request or use someone’s unemployment status information, as long as they have a bona fide reason that is substantially job related for doing so or if they need to assess the circumstances around an applicant’s previous termination or demotion from another position.
The legislation would also prohibit employers from advertising or announcing a job opening with language that the unemployed need not apply.
“With the economy just beginning to recover but with close to 800,000 people still unemployed, it is more important than ever that we assist and protect New Yorkers seeking employment from employers, agencies, and online sites. In these particularly hard times, a person’s present employment status should not make them any less qualified to gain a job,” said Comrie.
