Senator Pushes For Law To Ban Jobless Discrimination

Senator Sherrod Brown said on Friday that too many companies, recruiters and staffing agencies are refusing to consider job hunters who are currently unemployed.

Brown was pushing for a new law that would ban discrimination against jobless workers, Consumer 10’s Kurt Ludlow reported.

More than 14 million Americans are out of work and Brown said more than 6 million of them have been out of work for six months or more.

Brown visited the Central Ohio Workforce Investment Corporation which sees 1,200 new job seekers a month.

Amber Glanton lost her job because of restructuring a year ago and she said she feels like she should have a job by now.

 "I've been out for over a year and sometimes I feel like I want to break down, because it's hard,” Glanton said. “It's disheartening.  I have a son to take care of.  I want to work."

"I don't again, want to tell the employer whom they should hire,” said Brown. “I don't think people should be locked out just because they are unemployed, just because they are long term unemployed.”

Brown's Fair Employment Opportunity Act of 2011 would make it illegal for an employer to refuse to consider or hire someone who was unemployed, to advertise that they will not hire an unemployed person, or require an employment agency to take someone's employment status into account, Ludlow reported.

Brown said companies should not discriminate against employment status any more than they can discriminate based on race, gender or religion. 

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