New Ohio bill would create state registry of applicants who skip job interviews

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Some Ohio legislators are trying to make it more difficult to skip scheduled job interviews.

House Bill 395 would create an online registry of applicants who don’t show up to job interviews without notice. The bill tasks the Department of Job and Family Services with making a simple way of reporting applicants who don’t show up. The bill’s sponsors said it would protect employers and state unemployment services, but opponents said the bill could harm job applicants. 

According to the Department of Job and Family Services, nearly 50,000 Ohioans filed for unemployment benefits last week alone. The state already prohibits people from receiving unemployment benefits if they are not doing enough to get a new job. This includes skipping interviews or “ghosting” employers. 

Despite protections, H.B. 395 co-sponsor Rep. Brian Lorenz (R-Powell) said his constituents are seeing more and more people skip job interviews without notice. In a study by Business Insider, some employers reported as many as 90% of applicants skipping interviews. Lorenz said having an online system for reporting those absences will help keep people accountable. 

“The bill rewards professionalism. If you value employers’ time, this process is going to value you,” Lorenz said. “And it just modernizes the employment process and it holds applicants accountable and it helps employers thrive.” 

Senate Democrat Bill DeMora (D-Columbus) said applicants are already held accountable to unemployment requirements. He said the bill would penalize workers who have emergencies. He said he nearly missed an appointment last week due to car trouble, and disagrees with the idea of penalizing Ohioans in similar situations. 

“This bill is another answer, looking for a question,” DeMora said. “It is something that's not needed. I mean, there are procedures in line already for unemployment compensation.”

The Department of Job and Family Services is in charge of unemployment in Ohio. A spokesperson said the department does not comment on pending legislation, but it already offers a way to report interview no-shows online. However, the form takes a few steps, so Lorenz thinks his proposal will streamline the process. 

“We’re just trying to modernize and update Ohio to the 21st century,” Lorenz said. “When we do things like this it makes our state more competitive against the other states from an economic standpoint.” 

DeMora said he thinks legislation like H.B. 395 does not truly help Ohio’s economy. He said the General Assembly should be prioritizing protections for workers and local governments instead of big businesses. He said he has not heard any similar concerns from his constituents, and feels like there are other problems legislators need to focus on. 

“All this is going to do is make somebody less likely to actually want to get unemployment compensation … It's just something else that penalizes people,” DeMora said.

Lorenz said he has never skipped a job interview, joking his parents would “kill him” if he had. However, he said everyone runs into unexpected issues and sometimes missing an interview is unavoidable. DeMora said tracking those issues is not the government’s role, but Lorenz said it’s the General Assembly’s responsibility to protect Ohio’s businesses.

“We’re not looking to black list anybody or anything like that, we’re just trying to build and foster a culture of respect and accountability and stop wasting employers’ valuable time,” Lorenz said. 

Lorenz and Gross introduced the bill on July 21, although the House has been out of session since July 1. Legislators are not scheduled to return until October, so it’s unlikely the bill will see any action until then.