The public workforce system should take proactive steps to help the unemployed and especially the long-term unemployed return to work. As outlined in the accompanying Training and Employment Notice (TEN) 12-14: Promising Practices and Resources for Addressing Long-Term Unemployment,¹ a number of employers, employer organizations, and workforce agencies have implemented or pledged to implement specific actions, policies, and/or services for addressing the unique barriers to employment facing many of the long-term unemployed. One of these barriers, which is the subject of this Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL), is the practice among some employers to exclude unemployed and especially long-term unemployed individuals from hiring consideration. The purpose of this TEGL is to provide information to the public workforce system and other entities (including the "covered entities" listed above) that receive federal financial assistance to operate job banks, about the practice of some employers to exclude unemployed persons from hiring consideration, and to provide tools to educate employers about the practical and legal drawbacks of this practice. This guidance is being issued by the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration (ETA), in conjunction with the Civil Rights Center (CRC).