When the New York City Council in March voted to override Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s veto and enacted a law prohibiting employment discrimination against unemployed persons, it created the first new protected group in New York since the state Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act was passed some years ago. The new act, with several exceptions discussed below, makes it unlawful for employers with four or more employees to discriminate with respect to hiring, compensation or the terms and conditions of employment against any unemployed person seeking a job or to advertise for a position and require current employment as a qualification. The purpose of the New York City Local Law Prohibiting Discrimination Based on an Individual’s Unemployment is straightforward: in advocating for its passage, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn stated that "[w]e want to do everything we can to help people work" and said that a psychological stigma attached to being unemployed is "completely unfair."1
The New York City act, which takes effect in mid-June, represents the most assertive legal step taken to date anywhere in this country to assist the unemployed after several years of efforts in a number of states to address this issue. Last year, the District of Columbia enacted the Unemployed Anti-Discrimination Act of 2012 which empowered its Office of Human Rights to investigate and respond to complaints of discrimination against unemployed individuals. The district thus became the first jurisdiction to make the unemployed a protected class.
