Letter to Jacqueline Berrien, Chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - Possible Discrimination Against the Unemployed
Letter
Dear Chair Berrien:
We are writing with serious concerns regarding the recent news reports about the blatant discrimination against the unemployed. This is a very serious issue, especially considering approximately 15 million Americans are unemployed. According to various news reports, employers are posting advertisements stating: "must be currently employed" or "no unemployed candidates will be considered at all."
We are outraged by this discriminatory practice and are urging you to investigate how it can have an adverse impact on minority groups and be an unnecessary barrier to employment for minorities. Further, we are requesting that you issue a statement detailing how employers discriminating against the unemployed can open themselves up to disparate impact claims because a larger percentage of the unemployed population consists of minorities.
A policy where employers discriminate against the unemployed is unfair, unreasonable and simply ignores the effect of the recession on millions of highly-qualified workers who are unemployed through no fault of their own. Such a policy disproportionately hurts minorities as they suffer from higher unemployment rates than whites. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in October 2010, the national unemployment rate was 9.6%. The unemployment rate for whites was lower than the national rate at 8.8%. African-Americans and Hispanics, however, experienced unemployment rates that were above the national unemployment rate. African-Americans suffered from an unemployment rate of 15.7% and Hispanics from a 12.6% unemployment rate.
If this trend of employers discriminating against the unemployed continues, it will only prolong the unemployment crisis the United States is facing. Discriminating against the unemployed will not help America on its path to economic recovery. On behalf of our constituents, we are urging you to investigate how this discriminatory practice can have an adverse impact on minority groups and be an unnecessary barrier to employment for minorities. We are also requesting that you issue a statement detailing that discriminating against the unemployed could be illegal is it had a disparate impact on minority groups. We thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr.
Member of Congress
Sheila Jackson Lee
Member of Congress
Alcee L. Hastings
Member of Congress
Carolyn C. Kilpatrick
Member of Congress
Donna Christensen
Member of Congress
Bennie G. Thompson
Member of Congress
Laura Richardson
Member of Congress
Gwen Moore
Member of Congress
Emanuel Cleaver, II
Member of Congress
Jim McDermott
Member of Congress
John Lewis
Member of Congress
John Conyers
Member of Congress
Albio Sires
Member of Congress
Luis Gutierrez
Member of Congress
Raul Grijalva
Member of Congress
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Member of Congress
Al Green
Member of Congress
Maxine Waters
Member of Congress
Barbara Lee
Member of Congress
Joe Baca
Member of Congress
Bob Filner
Member of Congress
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.
Member of Congress
Chris Van Hollen
Member of Congress
Edolphus Towns
Member of Congress
Yvette D. Clarke
Member of Congress
George Miller
Member of Congress
Solomon Ortiz
Member of Congress
Marcia L. Fudge
Member of Congress
Danny K. Davis
Member of Congress
Maurice D. Hinchey
Member of Congress
Jose E. Serrano
Member of Congress
Rosa DeLauro
Member of Congress
Lynn C. Woolsey
Member of Congress
Charles A. Gonzalez
Member of Congress
Rush Holt
Member of Congress
Alan Grayson
Member of Congress
Janice D. Schakowsky
Member of Congress
Tim Ryan
Member of Congress
Edward Markey
Member of Congress
Phil Hare
Member of Congress
Carolyn B. Maloney
Member of Congress
Grace F. Napolitano
Member of Congress
Elijah E. Cummings
Member of Congress
Marcy Kaptur
Member of Congress
Dennis J. Kucinich
Member of Congress
Pete Stark
Member of Congress
Sanford D. Bishop
Member of Congress
G.K. Butterfield
Member of Congress
Keith Ellison
Member of Congress
Chaka Fattah
Member of Congress
Wm. Lacy Clay
Member of Congress
Chellie Pingree
Member of Congress
Donald M. Payne
Member of Congress
Gregorio Kilili Sablan
Member of Congress
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