A bill to protect New Jersey’s unemployed from employment discrimination moved through the legislature late last week.
Private and public employers and employment agencies would be subject to fines – up to $10,000 – if decisions to hire, compensate or if conditions of employment are based on the current employment status of an applicant.
The New Jersey Senate passed the measure, sponsored by Sens. Peter Barnes, D-Middlesex, and Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic, by a vote of 30-5. The bill already made it through the Assembly. It now heads to Gov. Chris Christie, who is expected to sign the bill.
“Often the stigma of being unemployed can have a greater impact on whether or not someone gets an interview or a job offer than the person’s qualifications of experience,” Barnes said in a statement. “Unfortunately employers assume that a long break in employment is a reflection of the candidate’s inability to effectively do the work rather than a byproduct of a bad economy.”
The senators said a recent study by Northeastern University found those who have been unemployed for a long time were much less likely to get an interview, even with the same or more experience and qualifications than an employed applicant.
Similar bill have been introduced in more than a dozen other states, but have yet to become law. Oregon and Washington DC have similar employment-status discrimination laws on the books. Bennett Pine, shareholder in both the Newark and New York offices of law firm Anderson Kill, said New York City also has a jobless discrimination law.
This newest law expands existing state law barring employers from posting job advertisements limited to the currently employed.
He said employers should review all job ads and eliminate questions during a job interview that focus on an applicant’s current employment status. Focus the interview on experience, training, skills and education – as is recommended for all other employment discrimination protections.
“However, it certainly appears permissible to inquire about the reasons why the applicant left his/her last employment, and nothing prevents an employer from researching an applicant’s background, employment history and criminal record,” he said.
Pine said employers can still base compensation on experience, limit applicants or give preference to those currently working for the employer, and post job ads with a minimum level of education, training or experience.
Chad Hemenway is Managing Editor of Advisen News. He has more than 15 years of journalist experience at a variety of online, daily, and weekly publications. He has covered P&C insurance news since 2007, and he has experience writing about all P&C lines as well as regulation and litigation. Chad won a Jesse H. Neal Award for Best Single Article in 2014 for his coverage of the insurance implications of traumatic brain injuries and Best News Coverage in 2013 for coverage of Superstorm Sandy. Contact Chad at 212.897.4824 or [email protected].
