U.S. Sen. Brown calls for passage of bill to protect the jobless

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Avon, called for the passage of a bill preventing employers from discriminating against jobless workers.

The Fair Employment Opportunity Act of 2011 could make it illegal for businesses to insert phrases like “unemployed need not apply” or “must be currently employed” into job postings.

“Some employers think there’s something wrong with them [the unemployed],” Brown said today. “That’s not fair.”

A July report by the National Employment Law Project reported an growing number of employers are using this tactic.

Equal opportunity laws prohibit businesses from discriminating because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, genetic information or age, according to The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The bill, originally introduced in the House in July, has gone untouched for more than two months.

Read the complete story in Thursday’s Vindicator and at Vindy.com.