On CNBC this morning, former General Electric CEO Jack Welch mentioned a curious section of the President’s proposed, “must pass” jobs bill that would penalize businesses for not hiring the unemployed. Digging through the bill, we come to Section 371, the “Fair Employment Opportunity Act of 2011”. Under this section, employers who make explicit mention that they won’t hire the unemployed can be charged with civil rights violations, and if found guilty, be held responsible for attorney’s fees and fined up to $1,000 “for each day of the violation.”
This lengthy section seeks to prevent the reappearance of Depression era images like the one nearby. Perhaps that’s a good thing. And there is the requisite throat clearing in the section saying that employment history, and job qualifications, can still be used in hiring decisions.
But for an enterprising lawyer, Section 371 could represent a golden opportunity to sue businesses anyway for not hiring the unemployed…all under the cover of a civil rights violation.
Maybe the section should have been entitled “The Full Employment for Attorneys Act of 2011.”
