By Godson Umejiego, Senior Correspondent USA

On April 28, 2022, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programmes (OFCCP) and US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will host, as part of the Hiring Initiative to Reimagine Equity (HIRE), the virtual roundtable Untapped Potential: Reimagining Equity for Workers with Gaps in Employment History to discuss challenges workers face when reentering the workforce after periods of unemployment.

As employers confront changing labor market dynamics, many are searching for strategies to recruit and hire new and diverse talent. Yet, many employers routinely decline to hire applicants with gaps in their employment history. Such practices can screen out otherwise qualified applicants from underrepresented groups, including caregivers, older workers seeking to re-enter the workforce, people with long-term disabilities, and formerly incarcerated individuals. Speakers will highlight the barriers that individuals with gaps in employment history face when looking for good jobs, the strengths these workers offer to employers, and promising practices recruiters and hiring officials can use to attract this untapped talent.

HIRE is a multi-year joint initiative that will engage a broad array of stakeholders to expand access to good jobs for workers from underrepresented communities and help address key hiring and recruiting challenges. The HIRE fact sheet contains more information.

Confirmed webinar speakers include:

• Director, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programmes, US Department of Labour, Jenny R. Yang
• Chair, US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Charlotte A. Burrows
• Chair, Board of Trustees, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law and Partner, Brown, Goldstein & Levy, Eve Hill
• Executive Director, Mission: Launch, Teresa Y. Hodge
• Vice President, A Better Balance, Elizabeth Gedmark
• Senior Advisor, Financial Resilience, AARP, Heather Tinsley-Fix

Additional  speakers are to be announced.