In today’s struggling economy, the last thing anyone wants to hear is someone talking pro-business, especially a politician. Unfortunately, the Ohio State Representative and his Republican friends are trying to pass a bill that will make things a bit harder for job seekers but better for business owners. Specifically, House Bill 395 aims to create an online list of individuals who skip or miss a job interview without proper notice.
According to NBC4 WCMH-TV, this GOP bill will only value those who “value employers’ time.” It’s going to force job applicants to be more accountable and “help employers thrive.” Although the Republican Ohio politician supporting this bill claims that he’s “not looking to black list anybody or anything like that,” online users are finding it very hard to believe him. “Cool, now do one of businesses that skip interviews. While you’re at it, do one of businesses that don’t respond to applications as well,” remarks a highly upvoted commenter.
“Will it also penalize employers who ghost applicants? No? Why am I not surprised?” says a Reddit user. It’s as the saying goes: “The cog exists for the benefit of the machine, not vice versa.” Without a doubt, some employers are going to abuse the new system that this Ohio bill would create, making it even harder for job seekers to find work if they’ve missed an interview or two. After all, what’s to say that an HR recruiter or business owner won’t lie about whether an applicant missed an interview without notice?
Besides punishing job seekers and valuing business, what other purpose would this bill have, you might ask? “The point is to deny unemployment benefits. They’re going to use it as an excuse to not pay,” explains one Reddit user. Another commenter claiming to be from Ohio agreed, saying it would “cut eligibility for unemployment.” And with less unemployment, what does that possibly result in? More taxpayers! At least, that’s what the Republican politicians are hoping for, most likely.
“This is slave master bulls**t,” remarks an angry commenter. And while such a comment is rather extreme, a pro-business bill that prioritizes employer interests might have a backfiring effect on what the legislators wanted. We’ll just have to wait and see.
