Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 5th Edition by Raymond Noe, John Hollenbeck, Barry Gerhart, Patrick Wright

Exercise 16

IS DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE UNEMPLOYED ETHICAL?
Following the financial industry's crisis in 2008, unemployment rates in the United States jumped above 7% for the first time in years, and stayed there. As the ranks of the unemployed swelled, workers found themselves unable to find a job month after month. Some could not even seem to get a job interview.
One reason for the difficulty landing an interview, much less a job, may be that some companies have established policies that they will only consider candidates who are currently employed. Companies are flooded with resumes, and considering only employed workers is one way to screen out those who perhaps were not the top performers, who couldn't prevent their former employers from going into decline, or who perhaps will be less stable in the months ahead as they cope with worn-out autos and unpaid bills. Those who held onto jobs during a severe recession might be the workers with exceptional skills and dedication, and they are in the best position to keep up with trends in their industry. Critics of these policies note that organizations could find other ways to identify the best-qualified candidates.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission noted that the recession did not affect all categories of workers equally. It held hearings to investigate whether policies to hire only currently employed workers would have a disparate impact on groups that were more likely to be unemployed: minorities and older and disabled persons. As of this writing, however, the EEOC has not completed its analysis or made recommendations.
Is a policy to hire only employed people fair to workers? Would a law saying employers may not discriminate against the unemployed be fair to employers? Based on fairness, would you say discriminating against the unemployed is ethical? Why or why not?