Pasadena, CA -- (SBWire) -- 05/02/2011 -- Businesses in New Jersey can no longer advertise for job vacancies stating that the currently unemployed need not apply.

The legislation was signed in law by Gov. Christie. Christie had vetoed an earlier version of the bill. Now violators will be fined up to $1000 for the first time and $5000 for each subsequent offense.

The bill came in the backdrop of employers increasingly and opening advertising their vacancies saying that they do not want unemployed people to apply. Now employers in New Jersey cannot do that in either their print or online advertisements. The bill is the first of its kind to be passed by any state in the country. Its proponents say that this measure may inspire other states to do the same to address what they see an increasingly bigger problem.

The new law has been praised by several state lawmakers who feel that thousands of unemployed people in New Jersey are being excluded from the economic recovery for no fault of their own. At present, Hound, a job search engine has found 17,000 jobs from employer websites in New Jersey.