By Bob Katzen 

House Bill (S 1027) – Prohibits employers and employment agencies from discriminating against any job applicant who is currently unemployed. The number of long-term unemployed (jobless for 27 weeks or more) stood at an estimated 1.8 million in February and accounted for 23.8 percent of the unemployed.

   Supporters say it is unfair to allow discrimination against someone who is unemployed and it makes it difficult for him or her to get back in the workforce. They say this goes on all the time and note that when applying online, a jobless applicant’s resume is often rejected by computer programs that screen out the unemployed.