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MARQUETTE -- Six months.  According to the National Employment Law Project, that's the amount of time you can stay unemployed before companies could determine you're not fit for hire.  Now some employers aren't being shy about it.

According to the New York Times, hundreds of companies on sites like Monster.com and Career Builder are stipulating in their listings that they'll take your application only if you're currently employed. The practice is legal.

"Being unemployed is not a protected class, so the law doesn't afford you protections against discrimination just because you're unemployed," says attorney at law Karl Numinen.  

So it's legal, but it it ethical?  Facebook viewer Mike Arendt says:

"...With as many people who have lost their jobs in the past couple of years, executing this practice is wrong.  An employer needs to understand that a lot of good people lost their jobs due to no fault of their own."

It's gotten the attention of a few state representatives, drawing up a bill that would make advertising jobs for the 'employed only' illegal.  Democratic Representative Steve Lindberg says he agrees with the bill, but it's not likely to pass into law anytime soon.

"I think that there's probably opposition from some folks that say the government shouldn't interfere in private enterprise and tell companies how they should hire people," says Lindberg.

But locally?  Manpower in Marquette says they haven't ever heard of an employer requesting applications from the employed only.

"It used it be if you have a gap in employment, you're done for," says Branch Manager Stephanie Zadroga-Langiois.  She says that's not the case anymore; now they are pickier about skill sets.

Manpower say that they've had people come into their office feeling like they didn't get a job because they were unemployed.  They say they politely disagree with those people and ask them to carefully go back over their resumes and really highlight their skill sets and work experiences.  Most importantly, keep sending those applications out.