Barely Legal Things Keeping Unemployed Out Of Jobs - Business ...

Employers don't want to look at the resumes of unemployed people. In fact, they don't even want those resumes sent to them.

Some employers will actually do whatever it takes ? without doing anything illegal ? to prevent the unemployed from applying for positions at their company.

The reasoning behind this comes from the belief that unemployed people are not as talented as those who are able to keep their jobs. This said, bringing them in for an interview ? and turning them down based on their unemployment ? will build a stronger case for discrimination against the employer. Therefore, employers will try to exclude these candidates by using certain restrictive language in the job posting.

Christine L. Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, says that "candidates unemployed six months or longer are out of luck."

Below are a few systematic exclusions some employers adopt to keep unemployed candidates out:

1. Listing "stable work history" as a requirement on the job posting.

James Porter, CEO of the Porter Group ? a sales management recruiting firm ? told Claire Gordon at AOL Jobs that his clients, whom he wouldn't reveal, requested that he use words such as "stable work history" as a "way to screen out job-hoppers."

However, this is also a potential way to keep the long-term unemployed ? those who have been unemployed for at least six months ? from sending in their resumes.

2. Allowing only currently employed people to apply.

This practice includes banning those who are currently unemployed from applying with restrictive language such as "will not consider/review anyone NOT currently employed regardless of the reason," "currently employed applicants only," or simply "only interested in the employed."

Catherine Rampell at The New York Times reports that hundreds of job vacancy postings on Monster.com, CareerBuilder, and Craigslist ask only for people currently employed or recently laid off.

However, it's hard to prove that employers making this request are doing so specifically to keep the unemployed from applying. This request can simply be rationalized as employers needing someone who can jump right in and do the job without too much training.

3. Announcing that credit checks will be administered.

Britney Spear at the Michigan Chronicle writes that running credit checks is "the latest trend among employers that is keeping the jobless unemployed. It's a catch-22 whereby finding a job is needed to pay off debts yet such financial troubles can keep you out of work."

A survey conducted by Demos, a public policy organization, found that nearly 25 percent of America's unemployed have had to go through a credit check by prospective employers, and out of this number, one in 10 were denied employment based on their credit.

More bad news for unemployed looking for work ...

Nick, an executive recruiter who didn't reveal his last name, told Laura Bassett at The Huffington Post that discriminating against the unemployed is a fairly common practice.

"It's nearly impossible to get a job unless you already have a job. Companies will view you ? especially people over 50 like me ? they view you as somebody that's gonna require more money, that's not gonna be productive, or that might have some personal problems, because if you were a good employee you would have never lost your job in the first place."

The problem though, is that it's also very difficult to prove that the tactics above are being used to keep out unemployed people. "It's difficult to document," Maurice Emsellem, policy co-director with the National Employment Law Project, told Eileen Ambrose at The Baltimore Sun. "No one wants to cop to the fact that they are doing it."

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/barely-legal-things-keeping-unemployed-out-of-jobs-2013-7

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