The different businesses that advertise available job openings in the state of Ohio will no longer be able to say that they are interested in applicants that are already employed. This will take place if the proposal that was recently introduced by a number of House Democrats actually turns into a law.

The state Representative, Ted Celeste, has said, “There are still an enormous number of people who are getting a message that, because they are unemployed, they are not welcome to apply for jobs.” The proposal, which will be labeled as the Ohio Fair Employment Act, will help to prevent employment discrimination against those who are not currently employed.

Many legislators looked on Craigslist for the state of Ohio, a website that is commonly used for employers to post about job opening, and found at least five different job advertisements that listed the job was only available to individuals who are already employed.

Representative Celeste, says, “The message for people who have been out of work for weeks, months and years is that even though you may have terrific credentials, if you’re not working now, we don’t want you.” Celeste is currently co-sponsoring the bill and believes whole-heartedly that it should, in fact, be passed as a law. Celeste says, “It is our hope this legislation will encourage employers to understand that there is tremendous value in those folks who happen to be unemployed.”

The bill itself typically addresses advertising that the job applicants should already be employed in order to be considered a potential candidate for the position. However, it still would not stop the employers for rejecting the applicants who are, in fact, unemployed. And, if the companies and employers do not follow the bill, if it is passed, the employer could end up dealing with a number of penalties, along with an investigation to follow up shortly thereafter.

This proposal that has been made is actually quite similar to Senate Bill 261, which was first introduced during the month of November by the Senator Charleta B. Tavares. The President Barack Obama is also pushing for a federal ban to take place to prevent employers from being able to disqualify specific applicants simply because they are currently unemployed.

In the meantime, the executive vice president for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Linda Woggon, says that the group will actually oppose such a bill because they believe employers have the right to use their own system when it comes to figuring out who they will and will not hire for their business.

Woggon says, “You just get flooded with resumes from people who aren’t qualified for jobs. They’re just applying out of desperation. It’s really difficult when you’re in that situation that you’re getting the most highly qualified people with the skills you’re looking for.”