Bloomberg Vetoes Bill Prohibiting Discrimination Against Jobless

On Friday, Mayor Bloomberg vetoed a controversial bill passed by the NYC Council which prohibits employers from advertising that unemployed candidates will not be considered for job openings and from considering a job candidate’s present employment status when making a hiring decision. As previously discussed here, NYC’s bill is not the first of its kind at the state or local level. However, the new NYC law is the first in the country to afford applicants a private cause of action in court for discrimination if they believe they have been discriminated against based on their unemployed status. Mayor Bloomberg cited several reasons for his decision to veto the bill, including his belief that the creation of an ambiguous legal standard will make it harder for employers to make decisions benefitting their businesses, and his belief that employers, fearing an increased threat of lawsuits, would look internally to hire instead of opening up the application process to the public. Council Speaker Christine Quinn said the Council will override Mayor Bloomberg’s veto and the law will take effect soon. We will continue to monitor the status of the bill. For more information on the bill and developing and implementing lawful hiring criteria, please contact John R. Vreeland, Esq., jvreeland@genovaburns.com or Douglas J. Klein, Esq., dklein@genovaburns.com in our Labor Law Practice Group.