As I wrote back in March, the EEOC — believing that some employers refuse to hire people without jobs — wants to make joblessness a protected category. Now there’s legislation before Congress to do just that. Read my colleague Richard Cohen’s blog post on the topic here.
Update (September 28, 2011): President Obama’s American Jobs Act includes a provision banning employers from discriminating against unemployed applicants. Is there anything other than anecdotal evidence that such discrimination exists?