ANS -- Staffing agencies defend job ads discriminating against the unemployed

This is sad and silly.  Employers don't want to hire unemployed people because wanting a job is not the right reason for looking for a job. 
Find it here:  http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/11/1005874/-Staffing-agencies-defend-job-ads-discriminating-against-the-unemployed?via=blog_1   
--Kim




Thu Aug 11, 2011 at 11:30 AM PDT

Staffing agencies defend job ads discriminating against the unemployed + *

by Laura Clawson Follow for Daily Kos Labor
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A recent report by the National Employment Law Project found a broad swath of job ads discriminating against unemployed people through language like "must be currently employed." Now, a team of Huffington Post reporters has followed up, calling companies to ask about their discriminatory ads. The result? A whole lot of excuses. For the most part, employers blamed the ads on staffing firms. Meanwhile, some staffing firms stood by their ads:

"When my clients hire me, they want people who are motivated to go to work for the right reasons," Seed said. "And if someone is currently employed in a good position, then their motivation to move to a different company would be that the company offers better benefits or offers more growth for advancement, or whatever. They're not people who have to have a job, they're people who want to move for the right reasons."

That's right, folks: Where this staffing agency VP is concerned, wanting a job is the wrong reason to apply for a job. This one may be the best, though:

Cypress Hospitality Group, a Florida-based staffing agency listed in the report, defended the ads it posted. "I don't see how 'current or very recent tenure' is discriminatory," a spokesperson said.

Nope, no way specifying that current or very recent employment is a requirement of a job discriminates against people who aren't currently or very recently employed.

A bill making it illegal to refuse to consider job applicants because they are unemployed has been introduced in the House and Senate. Perhaps its passage would clarify things for that staffing agency spokesperson.