Of all the things I’ve written about during this turbulent economic time, the one thing that bothered me the most was the revelation that some employers were refusing to even consider job seekers who were unemployed.

Companies are actually pretty open about this, and even say so in ads. One job posted on a job board by a Florida company a while back stated: “No unemployed candidates will be considered at all.”

I know, this is a huge blow for many of you who have been out of work and struggling to find a job. But the bottom line is, the jobless are not protected from such discrimination. Recruiters and hiring managers typically want people who are employed. No matter how you slice it, the natural tendency by some is to think something’s wrong with you if you’re unemployed, even if it’s not your fault, and the economy is bad, and your company laid off everyone.

This is a sad commentary on how some businesses operate, and such attitudes will do little to help bring down the nation’s unemployment rate, still hovering above 9 percent.

Help, however, may be on the way. (more…)

For those of you who think working mothers have a level playing field when it comes job opportunities, and it’s just their own lack of ambition that keeps them from climbing the ladder of success, time for a reality check.

Some businesses owners admit they just don’t want to higher working moms. They think you working mother aren’t as committed to your jobs and that your skills are often outdated. Clearly this is not the case for most of us daily grinders out there with kids but perceptions are pretty important and can lead to bias.

According to a study released this week that polled 10,000 business owners around the globe by Regus, a flexible office solutions company, fewer companies want to give working mothers jobs this year for part time jobs in particular, down 18 percent from last year.

* Only 28 percent of U.S. firms declare they plan to hire working mothers in 2011, as compared to 46 percent a year ago.
* And U.S. firms also plan to hire fewer working mothers than their global counterparts, with 36 percent of companies globally planning to hire working mothers in 2011.

And the reasoning is disheartening. The businesses polled felt that working moms “may” … : (more…)

If you’ve been listening to the news the last few days you probably think we’re all a bunch of raving mad intolerant lunatics who hate each other and are hell bent on shooting each other through the eyes, literally and metaphorically. And a report just released by the federal government regarding discrimination at work only seems to back up this perception.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported yesterday that discrimination claims in the United States hit record levels in fiscal year 2010, nearing 100,000 charges filed by employees, and the big gains came in religious and race bias, ageism and among disabled workers.

“Discrimination continues to be a substantial problem for too many job seekers and workers, and we must continue to build our capacity to enforce the laws that ensure that workplaces are free of unlawful bias,” said EEOC Chair Jacqueline Berrien.

Indeed, the numbers are disturbing but are we a more bigoted society today, and thus a more bigoted workplace? The answer may be surprising. (more…)

To tell or not to tell that is the big question when it comes to telling your boss or co workers about your health issues.

Yes, the laws protecting workers against being demoted, harassed or fired because of an illness are fairly far reaching, but that doesn’t mean your career won’t suffer if you choose to divulge your ailments. Employers, just like a lot of folks out there, can be ignorant, fearful, or just plain bigots when it comes to diseases and that can spell trouble for employees.

Discrimination claims by workers based on disabilities have been climbing steadily, hitting there highest level in more than a decade with 21,451 charges filed in 2009, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

That’s why I tend to be in the don’t-tell-your-boss-about-your-illness-unless-you-have-to camp.

Yesterday I got an email from CD from DC, a mid-career professional who did not want his name used, and he faced this very dilemma. “Wondered what is the right way to tell an employer that you have a disease that could be affecting your work? Not sure there is a right way but just wondered,” he wrote.

Turns out CD has Type 2 Diabetes and (more…)

The federal government has made no secret of its distaste for credit checks in the employment process, and now they’re taking out the big guns to fight the practice.

It’s bad enough that many of you have had to search for work for months, deplete your savings, and maybe miss a few bill payments, or lose your home or car; but then some employers would deny you a job because your credit was lousy. That’s just adding insult to injury. And, in some cases, such background checks can be discriminatory, impacting one group or groups who may have more problems with credit than others. It’s gotten many job seekers I’ve spoken with hot under the job-hunting collar.

Well, those folks have a friend at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Jacqueline Berrien. She became chair of the agency in April and she told me a while back that one of her top priorities was to smackdown such bogus background checks. Yesterday she took her first major shot. (more…)

Remember Velma Hart, the woman who got up in front of President Obama during a forum earlier this year and told him she was “exhausted” and sick of defending his economic policies? She and her husband were worried about their financial futures, and she wondered if there was any hope.

Well, she lost her job.

The middle-aged Hart was the chief financial officer for AmVets, a non-profit veterans service organization, and found out last last week that she was yet another layoff casualty in this economy.

Unfortunately, her situation is not unique, and making matters worse for Hart as she goes back out into the job market is her age. Sorry folks, it’s just a harsh reality. (more…)

It’s no surprise a pay equity bill got voted down today. Women wanting equal pay is now seen as just an obsession, like needing a new pair of stilettos.

A Wall Street Journal op-ed yesterday bashed the Paycheck Fairness Act that could not overcome a Republic filibuster today, calling the drive to ensure equal pay for equal work an “obsession” and not grounded in reality. Women don’t make less because of discrimination, the author contends. It’s all about the choices we gals make – you know, asking for flexible hours or taking time off to birth babies. The author didn’t mention the fact that more than 60 percent of women in the workplace are not even parents.

Clearly, quite a few senators, including two prominent female politicians, Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME), also thought the movement for pay equity is just the latest female fetish and shouldn’t be taken seriously, voting against the bill 58-41. The bill had already passed in the House.

The Act, which was introduced in January 2009 by then Sen. Hillary Clinton and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) to amend the Equal Pay Act of 1963, would have given enforcement teeth to existing laws that have done little to shrink the pay gap between men and women, which the Department of Labor says is 23 cents on the dollar. (more…)

Employers can’t use heredity against you.

It’s bad enough that employers sometimes discriminate against people because of their gender, race, religion or disability. Suddenly, thanks to genetics and genetic testing, we all had to worry about being the victims of bias because of what could be future illnesses and disabilities.

Let’s say your boss hears you talking about your sister’s breast cancer, and figures there’s a chance you may get it some day and end up costing the company big health care bucks.

What if that boss fired or demoted you as a result? Is this legal?

“No way,” according to long-awaited new rules published this week by the federal government. (more…)

There’s a growing backlash against credit history background checks in the hiring process.

At the head of the movement is Jacqueline Berrien, the chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. According to labor experts I’ve been talking to in the months since she got the top post at the government agency in April, she doesn’t much like credit checks and has the practice in her crosshairs.

Yesterday, at a hearing to discuss the practice, she made her opinion pretty clear:

“High unemployment has forced an increasing number of people to enter or re-enter the job market. As a result, an ever increasing number of job applicants and workers are being exposed to employment screening tools, such as credit checks, that could unfairly exclude them from job opportunities.”

While checking an applicant’s financial history was standard practice when it came to jobs in banking, for example, hiring managers in many industries now see credit checks as a way to find out more about the people they are considering hiring. The issue for many worker advocates is the practice hits minorities and the jobless more than others and that’s not fair. (more…)

UPDATE BELOW

There’s a bit of confusion in this country when it comes to religion and the secular world. A great example was on display yesterday when Senate hopeful Christine O’Donnell admitted she was ignorant about one key constitutional principle, the separation of church and state.

Everyone has been laughing at her, and probably with good reason. But she may not be the only dummy.

I have a question for you all:

Can you require that a job applicant be Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Wiccan or a Hare Krishna before you consider them for a job?

I know what most of you are probably thinking. Such a requirement is religious discrimination. Well, turns out this happens often and it’s not always illegal. (more…)