Commuting distance: A new route to hiring discrimination?

HR pros know all about the usual forms of discrimination: race, sex, age, national origin, disability and so forth. Are we about to add another category to the list of characteristics on which bias claims may be based?

A recent study by researchers at the University of Notre Dame found that some employers discriminate against applicants based on how far they might have to commute.

Of course, that kind of discrimination is not against the law. However, it could be yet another proxy for forms of discrimination that are illegal, such as race or national origin. For example, the Notre Dame study found that having a name that "sounds black" correlates with discriminatory hiring.

Researchers sent dummy resumes to various employers in the Washington, D.C. area. All showed the same qualifications, but appeared to come from addresses throughout the city. The study concluded that...