This story resonates with me because while I have had an active consulting business for about 15 years (and right now I have a consulting gig at Google), twice in the last five years potential customers wanted to hire me for projects but they were blocked by their HR departments who thought I was LTU. Offering to show tax records did not help.
I am also in my 60s, so I also feel for people who might suffer from age discrimination (or gender, race, religion, etc.)
There should be a level playing field, but sadly that is not always the case.
> twice in the last five years potential customers wanted to hire me for projects but they were blocked by their HR departments who thought I was black. Offering to show birth certificate of my father did not helped.
While I can appreciate the point you're trying to make. Please don't think not hiring someone because they're black, and not hiring someone because they've been, or appear to have been, unemployed for a long period of time are the same thing.
There is no ethical, legal, and legitimate reason to not hire someone for a consulting job because they're black. There is an ethical, legal, and legitimate reason to not hire someone because they have been unemployed for a long period of time. Or to at least consider other candidates who don't appear to have been unemployed for a long period of time.
I'm hoping your comment about showing a parent's birth certificate was solely an attempt at an analogy and not meant to be something you think realistically would or does happen. An employer can't deny a candidate employment because a candidate is or isn't black, or their parents are or aren't black. That's the point. Race and color are both protected classes in the US [1]. A person's long term unemployment, just like their level of education and attractiveness, isn't a protected class. Meaning a job can discriminate against a person all day every day based on their history of long term unemployment.
And just to add, the birth certificate of one parent doesn't determine a person's race as far as society is broadly concerned, particularly if you're considered black in the US [2][3][4].
> potential customers wanted to hire me for projects but they were blocked by their HR departments
It absolutely boggles my mind that at any company an HR department would be able to block a hire like that. I mean why not just give the accounting department veto power over hires too?
I don't know. One HR person told me on the phone that I had been unemployed for too long. Any data I gave her fell on deaf ears. But, it was that that company's right to not hire me for any reason. No hard feelings.
Very strange, since their employees vouched for you. That means the HR department basically judged "well, our employees say he is worth $X,000, but we suspect he is actually a hobo"
I've thought about this as a solo freelancer. Within my (small) niche, everyone knows who I am, and I can point to external signs. Outside my niche, people pretty much have to take what I say on faith when I describe what I do.
I am also in my 60s, so I also feel for people who might suffer from age discrimination (or gender, race, religion, etc.)
There should be a level playing field, but sadly that is not always the case.