Originally posted on Politics In Color By Wayne Dawkins
Is corporate discrimination against the unemployed undermining U.S. job growth?
The ColorofChange.org alleged that Monster.com and other job placement companies have “unemployed need not apply” polices.
Already employed job seekers were encouraged to pursue new opportunities however. ColorofChange appears to be responding to National Employment Law Project hearings that have called attention to patterns of discrimination against unemployed people.
ColorofChange said when ally USAction questioned the discriminatory strategy, Monster threatened legal action.
ColorofChange’s accusation seemed so outrageous and extreme I checked the veracity of its claim. Sure enough I found recent reporting about the odious trend at Griot.com and TheRoot.com that corroborated ColorofChange’s story. The civil right’s Web site is staging a petition drive to persuade Monster and similar companies to cease the “unemployed need not apply” practice.
Bravo to the ColorofChange.org for disturbing the peace.
U.S. unemployment is stubbornly entrenched at 9 percent, but among African-Americans the rate is at least 15 percent. Another subset is unemployed Americans ages 40 to 60 of all colors who have been job searching for months – even a year or more – for work. They are often college-educated professionals, unlike the many semi to unskilled factory workers of the 1980s who were discarded when corporations sent their manufacturing jobs overseas.
This time, reported CBS News this summer and last year, the 40- to 60-year olds are “unemployable” because they are often “overqualified” or the companies are reluctant to pay these people the competitive salaries commensurate with their skills and expertise.
Recently in a small- to-midsize industrial city, an employer complained of inability to find qualified workers. However a counterargument is too many employers loathe paying taxes for any reason, nor invest in people who have gotten rusty from idling on the sidelines.
It is disingenuous for political opponents of the Obama administration to blame the president for stymieing job expansion because the administration is opposed to an unregulated landscape for businesses.
Should Americans trust some companies that boldly discriminate against unemployed job seekers, underpay the employed and make conditions bad for responsible corporate and small business innovators who actually/really create jobs?
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