Congressman responds to reports of job ads that read: ‘no unemployed candidates need apply’
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) sent a letter to U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Jacqueline Berrien to request an investigation into possible discrimination against the unemployed.
Congressman Johnson is responding to reports of job listings that explicitly exclude unemployed applicants. Some advertisements stated that applications “must be currently employed” to apply or stipulated that “no unemployed candidates will be considered at all.”
“Employer discrimination against unemployed job applicants is fundamentally wrong,” said Rep. Johnson, who represents parts of DeKalb, Rockdale and Gwinnett counties in eastern metropolitan Atlanta. “With unemployment at 9.6 percent and more than 15 million Americans out of work, this discrimination will only prolong the crisis.”
According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report in October 2010, the national unemployment rate was 9.6 percent. The rates for African-Americans and Hispanics, however, are 15.7 percent and 12.6 percent, respectively.
“On behalf of our constituents, we are urging you to investigate how this discriminatory practice can have an adverse impact on the unemployed, minority groups and be an unnecessary barrier to employment for minorities,” said Rep. Johnson.
Congressman Johnson, who authored the letter, has worked over the last week to rally support from his colleagues -- more than 55 members of Congress had signed the letter– many of them in House leadership: Rep. John Lewis of Atlanta, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Barbara Lee of California, House Education and Labor Committee Chair Rep. George Miller of California, Judiciary Chairman Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois and Chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support Jim McDermott of Washington state.
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