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Employment Law

Discrimination against the Unemployed

The article by Rampell Catherine in the New York Times is about the difficulties Americans have to go through in attaining employment. According to her, there are many conditions that exist before a person can gain employment. She gives an example of a where most employers require that the job applicant already has to be working. This means that it is difficult for people who are currently unemployed, or those who have never worked before to gain employment. It seems that there is a lot of bias that exists among the people who are unemployed (Rampell, 2011. 1).

The employment issue, which exists, is whether it is right for resumes of unemployed people to be discarded by employers. An operations analyst in the information technology sector is an example of a person who is discriminated by the employment act. According to a recruiter, not working for six months is an obstacle towards finding employment. This ideology seems to have spread to almost all the American employers. Furthermore, the number of Americans who do not have jobs is at 14 million, and finding work is a problem. Some of America’s known Job websites such as Craigslist, CareerBuilder, and Monster.com are not employing the unemployed. This situation has a historical context like that, which took place during the Great Depression. During that time, many workers were left unemployed, and this is due to the crisis. It does not make sense when employers demand that potential recruits be currently employed. There are some people who are fresh out of college and have never worked, yet they have the skills and knowledge. They should be given a chance to prove their capability, and thus, this employment discrimination is problematic (Rampell, 2011. 1).

According to a legal view, like race and age there is no protected status in matters related to employment. Experts further believe that there is no discrimination that occurs as a result of this practice. The employment laws, which exist, are not violated in any way. It has emerged that the most vulnerable groups affected by this practice are blacks and elderly people. The latter is according to information provided by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The latter has not yet decided whether the case on the unemployed is illegal in any way. In fact, they have hearings on this matter, which are taking place at the moment. The unemployed are crossing their fingers, in order for a law to be passed concerning this matter (Livingston et al, 20005. 114).

Employment discrimination has become a menace, and a law has been passed by New Jersey concerning this matter. Other states such as Michigan and New York are considering having such a law. The economy is being affected, as there are no people who are employed to earn revenue for the economy. There will no longer be a scenario where unemployed workers are discouraged from applying due to their unemployment status. The plight of workers is being addressed by the National Employment Law Project (Decker, 2002. 42). It advocates for politicians to find ways to outlaw adverts that discriminate against the unemployed workers. Furthermore, it advocates for the unemployed to obtain benefits, as well as engage in the labor market studies. Almost all professions are involved in this discriminative practice, and including even top American companies. It seems that this matter cannot be solved easily as Congress is not that influential. Companies are the ones who have the upper hand in this matter, since they are the ones who hire individuals. They choose the people they want, and congress cannot interfere. If the matter is taken to court, proving that discrimination occurred will be extremely hard.

There is enough evidence to prove that workers who have stayed for long without being employed may not be beneficial to the work place. Some of the reasons why they are unemployed is because they lack competence, and are laid off as there is no work. In some careers like Technology and Medicine, the more the workers stay without employment, the more they become incompetent. Also, there is a risk that they may not have contacts with former clients, and the impact is disastrous. Most employers want to hire people who are currently employed, as they are more attractive, and know what is going on at the work place (Rampell, 2011. 1).

Currently, there is no law, which focuses on the discrimination of workers who are unemployed. The only one that is closely related is the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which discourages and outlaws employment discrimination. The EEOC has the mandate of ensuring that the law is enforced. Also, it ensures that polices, practices and regulations regarding employment are met. It also focuses on what job advertisements entails, process of hiring, and recruitment, among others. Workers who file suits in court because they have been denied employment, due to their absence from work they are not likely to win. This is because there is no law, which states that the practice is unlawful (Livingston et al, 20005. 123).

If the worker is lucky, and the matter passes through in court, they can receive a remedy of being employed. Other forms of remedy include; payment of court costs, witness fees of experts, as well as the attorney fees. If the case is not successful, the unemployed worker risks spending a lot of money paying for the various expenses incurred. The main issues presented in this article are many and of a legal nature. Americans without work are not gaining employment because they are not favored by employers. It seems that only those who are working at the moment easily find employment. This should not be taking place in this era, as people have a valid reason of being out of employment.

In conclusion, I believe that it is unfair how unemployed workers are being treated. Most times, it is not their fault that they have to leave work. Once they decide to go back to work, they find it difficult due to many barriers, which exist. Employers should compromise and find ways to ensure that they can accommodate unemployed workers. A law must be implemented by congress which outlaws this practice by employers. In turn, many potential employees will have the opportunity of taking care of their families who are in need of help. Lastly, society has a role to play in this issue (Decker, 2002. 56). Activists should become involved in advocating for the rights of employees. They should engage in peaceful demonstrations as well as have talks with politician to help them. Furthermore, people should be encouraged to become entrepreneurs as this makes their lives even better. Thus, this issue on employment discrimination needs to be addressed before it escalates further.

Work Cited

Rampell, Catherine. The Help-Wanted Sign Comes with a frustrating Asterisk. 2011. Retrieved from The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/26/business/help-wanted-ads-exclude-the-long-term-jobless.html?_r=1.

Decker, Kurt. & Covington, Robert. Employment Law in a nutshell. New York: West Group, 2002. Print.

Livingston, D. et al. EEOC Litigation and Charge resolution. New York: Bna Books, 2005.Print.