8
BizVoice
/Indiana Chamber –
May/June 2012
shorts
States Responding to
Hiring Bias Against
the Unemployed
I
t seems that most everyone knows at
least one person who has been out of
work but looking for a job for an
extended period of time. The U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics backs that up: It now takes
11% of workers more than a year to find
new employment. That’s 11% of the nearly
14 million unemployed in this country – or
approximately 1.5 million people.
The uneven economy of the last few
years has increased the number of job seekers
and further complicated their searches. At
the same time, the trend of “it’s easier to get
another job when you already have one” is
becoming increasingly accurate.
In fact, some employers have gone so
far as to openly recruit only those who are
currently or recently employed. That
translates to one giant problem for those
out of work long term.
Several states are starting to take action.
In March of 2011, New Jersey became the
first state to pass a law prohibiting employers
from discriminating against the unemployed
– including barring advertisements that
restrict applicants to those already with a
job. Earlier this year, more than 10 states
were considering comparable measures.
Oregon’s law went into effect March 27 and
fines employers $1,000 if they post a job ad
telling unemployed workers to not apply.
S
choolhouse Partners ultimately helps young people by
assisting educational, non-profit and community
agencies with obtaining grant funding. Doing so, in part,
with experienced workers has earned it recognition for its
hiring practices.
The Aging Worker Initiative, funded by the U.S.
Department of Labor, provided paid internships for three
workers at Schoolhouse Partners. The West Lafayette company
went on to hire all three on a full-time basis, leading to
receiving the 2011 Maturity Matters Employer award from the
Region 4 Workforce Board (covering 12 West Central Indiana
counties) and the Tecumseh Area Partnership.
Anita Schafer, who co-founded Schoolhouse Partners in
2003, says, “We have a specialized market and training can be
extensive. The funding provided necessary resources during
the training.” She adds that all three interns/future employees
“arrived with a strong work ethic in place. Their balance of
writing, editorial and technology skills has made them valuable
assets at Schoolhouse Partners.”
The Indiana Chamber and
BizVoice
®
have touted the
importance of companies preparing for the upcoming loss of
knowledge in the workplace through employee retirements.
The Workforce Wise initiative has included research studies
and a year-long magazine series in 2011.
Resource:
Learn more about Workforce Wise at
www.workforcewise.com
Benefitting From Mature Workers
Evaluating Congestion Levels
on the Nation’s Highways
I
f you have a proverbial “need for speed” in moving your products, you
might be in trouble if utilizing these roads.
An annual report published by the American Transportation Research
Institute and the Federal Highway Administration examined 250 highway
locations throughout the United States to gauge the impact of congestion on
freight mobility.
Each site was assigned a “congestion index” ranking based on
weekday traffic flow (all hours of the day) in 2010, primarily on urban
interstate interchanges. Average speeds under a free flow of 55 miles per hour
indicated congestion.
The nation’s worst freight bottleneck was Chicago’s I-290 at I-90/I-94.
Next were areas in Fort Lee, New Jersey (I-95 at SR 4) and Houston, Texas
(I-45 at U.S. 59, I-10 at I-45 and I-10 at U.S. 59).
The Hoosier highways containing the most significant traffic chokepoints:
• Gary (No. 6) – I-65 at I-80
• Indianapolis (No. 21)– I-65 at I-70 (North)
• Indianapolis (No. 30) – I-65 at I-70 (South)
• Indianapolis (No. 95) – I-465 at I-69
• Indianapolis (No. 163) – I-465 at I-865
Resource:
American Transportation Research Institute at
www.atri-online.org
Shorts written by
BizVoice
®
staff