WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons on Friday urged Delaware companies to join a new effort by President Obama to assist unemployed Americans by signing-on to a set of best practices aimed at eliminating the stigma often attached those who have been without a job for a long period of time. Delaware-based DuPont, Inc., is among 300 U.S. companies that have already committed to the best practices. 

“The long-term unemployed face unique challenges in the job market but deserve the same economic opportunity as all Americans,” Senator Coons said. “The longer a worker is unemployed, the more difficult it becomes to find a job, often because there is a stigma attached to being unemployed. By getting 300 companies to commit to a set of guiding principles aimed at ending that sigma, President Obama is doing his part to preserve job opportunities for the long-term unemployed. Now Congress needs to do its part by passing an extension of emergency unemployment insurance, moving forward with bipartisan skills-training legislation, and helping our manufacturers grow and create jobs. I hope every Delaware business will join DuPont in signing-on to these best practices today.” 

Delaware businesses can sign-on to the best practices on Senator Coons’ website here: www.coons.senate.gov/bestpractices

The best practices include:

  • Ensuring that job postings do not discourage or discriminate against unemployed individuals.
  • Reviewing screens or procedures used in recruiting and hiring processes so they do not intentionally or inadvertently disadvantage individuals from being considered for a job based solely on their unemployment status.
  • Reviewing current recruiting practices to ensure the casting of a broad net and encouraging all qualified candidates to consider applying, including the long-term unemployed, by taking steps that may include:
    • Publicizing their commitment that qualified unemployed individuals will not be disadvantaged solely on their unemployment status on their website, in application materials, or in other places where it can be seen by potential applicants;
    • Interviewing or otherwise considering qualified long-term unemployed individuals;
    • Training their hiring teams and recruiters to focus on the bona fide occupational requirements and leadership requirements for a given role and not just on an applicant’s current or recent employment status;
    • Engaging with local and regional entities in order to reach broad segments of the population with relevant skills and experience
  • Sharing best practices – including success achieved with hiring the long-term unemployed in their own company – within their organization and across their supply chain, with staffing firms, their employer associations and the broader business community.

Senator Coons questioned Doug Elmendorf, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, about the effects of the federal budget on the long-term unemployed during a hearing of the House-Senate Budget Conference Committee in November. More on that exchange, including video, is available here: http://1.usa.gov/1bd7giB.